Tricera Capital and Native Realty announce that New Jersey-based gastropub Asbury Ale House is opening its first South Florida location at Society Las Olas, where Tricera and Dev Motwani-led Merrimac Ventures own the ground floor retail space. The transaction brings Society’s ground-floor retail to full occupancy. Native Realty represented Asbury in the lease.
Asbury Ale House is set to occupy 9,263 square feet at Society, the premier mixed-use project along the revitalized Riverwalk in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale. It joins Thompson Hospitality’s Matchbox Restaurant and Big Buns Damn Good Burger Co., and casual health food restaurant Pura Vida Miami as tenants at the 301 SW First Ave. project.
“We are thrilled to sign another major F&B lease during the pandemic and bring this exciting concept to downtown Fort Lauderdale,” Tricera Capital Co-Founder and Managing Principal Ben Mandell said. “Asbury Ale House is a great complement to the restaurant, bar and retail offering at Society Las Olas and is an extremely synergistic co-tenant that will add a unique experience for the customer.”
Native’s Kaley Tuning and firm Founder and CEO Jaime Sturgis facilitated the lease on behalf of Asbury Ale House.
Ben Mandell, Kaley Tuning and Jaime Sturgis
“This transaction continues the broader trend of Northeast businesses, especially tenants in the restaurant, bar and entertainment space, increasingly coming down to South Florida,” Sturgis said. “We are excited to bring another new concept to Downtown Fort Lauderdale and continue the evolution of our hometown. Our firm is actively working with other Northeast restaurant operators who are eager to expand into – or relocate to – South Florida.”
Founded in 2015, the Gullace Family opened Asbury Ale House in Asbury Park – the Jersey Shore beach town known for cultivating legendary musicians including Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. The gastropub boasts more than 60 different draft beers on tap and culinary staples including wings, burgers, pizzas and small bites.
The Asbury Ale House news follows the installation of a 14-ton, 27-foot public art piece at Society Las Olas. The sculpture, dubbed “Thrive,” was created by acclaimed South African artist Daniel Popper and went viral on social media upon being unveiled last month.
Motwani’s Merrimac Ventures has been a driving force in the Riverwalk neighborhood’s reemergence. Merrimac acquired the former Las Olas Riverfront complex and brought in PMG to develop Society on a portion of the property before partnering with Tricera to acquire and curate the retail component. Merrimac also owns the adjacent property and operates the Wharf Fort Lauderdale and Rivertail with Breakwater Hospitality Group.
In 2018, Sturgis represented homegrown co-working space operator General Provision in its lease of a historic building, owned by Motwani, that is adjacent to Society Las Olas. General Provision’s expansion from its original location in FAT Village was another key catalyst for the neighborhood.
Across the street from Society Las Olas, Menin Hospitality recently opened Bodega Taqueria y Tequila, the second location for the Miami-based Mexican street-food eatery.
Tricera Capital is a Miami-based real estate investment firm specializing in value-add, urban retail, office and mixed-use assets. It is headquartered at 80 SW Eighth St. in Brickell.
Native Realty is headquartered at 719 NE Second Ave. in Flagler Village.
About Native Realty: Founded in 2017 by pioneering Fort Lauderdale-based commercial real estate broker Jaime Sturgis, Native Realty is disrupting the real estate industry and redefining what it means to be a broker. Sturgis and his team of passionate brokers specialize in leasing and investment sales in the urban core and emerging markets in South Florida. Instead of looking at individual listings and transactions in a vacuum, Native takes a holistic approach to the urban neighborhoods the company’s brokers live, work and play in. The firm is best known for its role curating Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village neighborhood, completing more than 750,000 square feet in transactions in the last few years. It is now expanding its placemaking efforts to urban core neighborhoods throughout South Florida. Native works with all types of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. Notable clients have included Coca-Cola, Integra Realty Resources, U.S.A. Parking and many more. Native is headquartered in the heart of Flagler Village at 719 NE Second Ave. For more information, visit www.nativere.com.
About Tricera Capital: Miami-based Tricera Capital is a real estate investment firm focused on value-add, urban retail, office and mixed-use investments and developments throughout the United States. Since launching in 2017, Tricera’s principals have leveraged their institutional real estate experience, relationships and entrepreneurial spirit to create off-market opportunities and quickly amass a portfolio in select target markets. The principals are seasoned real estate professionals with deep track records of success in deal sourcing, acquisitions, syndication and leasing. Their experience enables Tricera Capital to strategically identify and execute deals and move swiftly to create value by repositioning assets and upgrading the tenancy to deliver superior returns to investors. For more information, visit www.triceracap.com.
