Harbert Realty Services’ Expertise Cited In National Restaurant Publication

Birmingham, Ala. –The Restaurant Finance Monitor, a national restaurant publication, recently called upon Harbert Realty Services for insight into the current state of retail and restaurant real estate in the United States and opportunities associated with it.

In an article entitled “Taking Advantage of the Recession: Real Estate Development – There are Deals to be Had,” the Monitor interviewed Parrish Taylor, Vice President of Harbert’s Restaurant Group, and Stutts Everette, another Harbert Realty vice president. Observing that franchise growth has slowed and that the market was seeing fewer new restaurant concepts, Taylor recognized that expanding restaurateurs are well-positioned to negotiate favorable lease payments. “You can drive a pretty hard bargain,” Taylor said. “We continue to suggest to our clients that they be aggressive in the deal we negotiate for them.”

Taylor related one recent experience to the Monitor, in which Harbert Realty Services was able to secure a restaurant lease for a client in El Paso, Texas, paying $17 a square foot for property that, less than a year earlier, had been demanding $25 a square foot. For the client, the reduction represented lease payment savings of $41,600 annually. For Harbert, the deal represented another example of the benefits of locating premier sites for its clients and then aggressively pursuing appropriate lease concessions from the landlord during the current economic downturn.

“It was gratifying to see the Restaurant Finance Monitor seek Parrish’s and Stutts’ opinions on this topic” said Michael Murray, Senior Vice President for Harbert Realty. “As the article suggested, Harbert enjoys extensive experience assisting restaurants, both corporate and franchise-based, with streamlining and lightening their real estate responsibilities. If we can take real estate worries off their plate, then they can focus on what they’re putting on their customer’s plates.”

About Harbert Realty Services, Inc. Harbert Realty Services is one of the largest privately held, full service commercial real estate firms in Alabama. Headquartered in Birmingham, the company offers clients expertise in a full range of commercial real estate services honed through over 50 years of property ownership, development and management across the Southeast. Harbert offers a full corporate services platform for its clients to include site selection, disposition, construction management, lease administration and real estate accounting. For more information, visit www.harbertrealty.com.

About Restaurant Finance Monitor Published monthly, the Restaurant Finance Monitor provides its readers with valuable sources of financing and offers detailed analysis of the multi-unit restaurant business. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Monitor provides the most complete understanding of the financial markets found anywhere in the restaurant industry. For more information, visit www.restfinance.com.