For the second day a in a row, a roughly one year old restaurant has been listed for sale. This time it's breakfast and brunch eatery Pancake Social at Westside Paper along West Marietta Street in West Midtown.
Boxcar Betty's, a Charleston-based chicken joint, closed in the project in March after about a year in business. The space was quickly backfilled by Dumpling Factory. Elsewhere Brewing closed at Westside Paper and in Grant Park at the end of October. The Westside Paper location - officially Elsewhere Brewing Greenhouse Taproom - opened in September 2023.
Anne Quatrano (Bacchanalia, Star Provisions, and W.H. Stiles Fish Camp) partnered with restaurateurs Dan Jacobson (formerly of Chick-fil-A), Steven Chan (Tin Drum Asian Kitchen), and Tony Riffel (co-founder of Octane) in opening the pancake restaurant. The menu features a variety of sweet and savory pancakes, bowls, sandwiches, coffee, and fresh-pressed juices. A location of Pancake Social was announced in 2018 to be opening at Town Centre at Trilith (formerly Pinewood Forest) in Fayetteville but that location failed to materialize.
As of December 10, the restaurant had just 91 reviews and an overall 3.9 star rating on Google, both surprisingly low given the restaurant's pedigree and time open, but also an indication of why it may be for sale. By comparison, Torchy's Tacos, a new to market brand with limited local awareness which opened at nearby Star Metals this past August, already has nearly 800 reviews with an overall 4.8 stars on Google.
The Pancake Social listing indicates that any would-be buyer could keep the cuisine the same with a re-brand or convert it to a completely new concept that the landlord approves. The name, trademarks, brand, and business are not included in the sale. The space includes inside seating for 75 plus patio seating for another 50.
Breakfast has become an increasingly competitive mealtime in the area, with several new concepts having opened in West Midtown in recent years. This sobering truth was made abundantly clear this week with news that West Egg Cafe, the OG in the West Midtown breakfast & brunch game, is closing December 29 after two decades in business.
$1 million was spent on "opening costs" of the 2,700 square foot Pancake Social space where monthly "all in" rent comes in at $10,000. The restaurant is signed to a ten year lease with two five year renewal options.
The restaurant, with "Full Staff in Place including Management Team," is priced at $450,000.
Are you surprised to see Pancake Social listed for sale? Do you think the concept is the problem, the location,.... or both? What are your thoughts on the Westside Paper project?
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