Jones Lang LaSalle

Restaurant Chain Expands HQ Location
By Eric Peterson
Last updated: January 18, 2006 12:58pm

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ-Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse Corp. has renewed its existing HQ space and added 4,500 sf in a separate sublease transaction, bringing its total occupancy to 10,113 sf at 1450 Route 22 here. The two-part signing is about half of recent lease transactions arranged by Colliers Houston & Co., totaling nearly 21,000 sf, at the Punia Co.-owned building.

Colliers Houston SVP Stan Kurzweil represented Charlie Brown’s in the renewal and sublease/expansion, the fifth office deal he’s done for that company in recent years. The sublessor, Communications Network Enhancement, was represented by William McCaffrey, EVP at Trammell Crow. Jeffrey Punia acted for the Livingston-based Punia Co. in the direct renewal. Terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1966, Charlie Brown’s is the largest steakhouse operator in the Garden State. Besides its 40 eateries in New Jersey, the company operates another 17 in New York and Pennsylvania.

In the other transaction at 1450 Route 22, Children’s Specialized Hospital has subleased just over 10,800 sf of office space. According to Kurzweil, who similarly represented the tenant, the pediatric hospital is expanding its administrative departments. Currently operating its main facility nearby, Children’s Specialized Hospital is also building a new facility on the campus of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. For sublessor Communications Network Enhancement, the subleases are related to that company’s shedding of its HQ space relating to its recent acquisition.