Shuckers restaurant in North Bay Village sold to Canadian investors
Shuckers Bar & Grill, a popular bayfront watering hole in North Bay Village, has sold to a Canadian real estate investment company for an unknown price.
Also part of the deal is a Best Western hotel. The hotel and restaurant are part of the same complex at 1819 79th St. Cswy. North Bay Village is a community of 7,000 people who live on three small islands connected by a causeway between Miami and Miami Beach.
The new owners have no plans to replace local favorite Shuckers, said broker Richard Spado, who handled the transaction, although they may renovate.
The seafood restaurant, also known for its chicken wings, was the scene of a near catastrophe during the NBA championship finals in 2013. Nearly 100 people watching the Miami Heat take on the San Antonio Spurs were thrown into Biscayne Bay when the restaurant’s wooden deck suddenly collapsed on the night of June 13. No one was killed, but two dozen injured people were taken to the hospital.
The accident launched a flurry of lawsuits. Shuckers was able to reopen about a year later.
Spado said the restaurant quickly returned to profitability.
“North Bay Village has been kind of a forgotten place when you talk about real estate in Miami-Dade County, which is surprising based on how close it is to the beach,” he said. “I would expect you’re going to see a lot more buyers coming in here. There is a lot of redevelopment potential.”
A deed hasn’t been filed yet with the county, meaning the sales price is unknown for now. The Daily Business Review had earlier reported that the property sold for $32 million, but Spado said the actual figure was “significantly lower” than that. He said he wasn’t authorized to reveal the true price tag.
The buyers are Jesta Group, a Montreal-based real estate company that invests in hotels, retail and apartments in Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
The seller is a company registered to Charles Grentner, who bough the property in 1984 for $2.7 million.
NICHOLAS NEHAMAS
This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Shuckers restaurant in North Bay Village sold to Canadian investors."