REAL ESTATE NEWS

During the past four years, Downtown Burbank has attracted 28 new restaurants, with seven more set to open in 2025.

The success in attracting and securing this wide variety of dining options to its Downtown is due to increasing traffic, with the area seeing a 5% increase since 2019, now welcoming 4.1 million visitors.

There are 1,000 new housing units approved, under construction, or newly opened in Downtown Burbank and three new hotels are proposed for the area, adding nearly 600 new rooms.

Local-based Business Improvement District (PBID) Board Member, Christine Deschaine, senior vice president, KWP Real Estate, told GlobeSt.com that restaurants are the dominant use in the trade area.

“Generally, when new restaurants choose to expand into a market, it’s because existing locations are performing well—this indicates that food and beverage concepts remain eager to secure leases in the Downtown Core,” Deschaine said.

“Also a few of our quick-service-restaurant (QSR) credit tenants continue to renew their leases such as Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea, Barney’s Beanery, Islands, etc.

“We’ve taken a proactive approach to transforming Downtown into a culinary destination. By attracting high-quality operators and encouraging the expansion of successful local concepts, we have created a vibrant ecosystem that offers strong support for retail investment and long-term growth. We hope this intentional focus on placemaking continues to open doors for retailers, and investors seeking to align with our thriving, experience-driven market.”

PBID Board Chair Michael Cusumano, who also serves as the founder of Cusumano Real Estate Group and a Downtown Burbank property owner, spoke about the energy the area already gets from its entertainment. And that's only going to prosper.

"As additional housing is built, it’s going to be a game changer in creating a true live, work, play opportunity," he told GlobeSt.

One restaurant, Story Tavern, is a family-owned tavern that has been open in Burbank for over a decade.

The property continues to expand, adding a game room and experimenting with a newly opened concept for Downtown called Ciderworks, an eclectic eatery featuring award-winning hard apple cider and a pet-friendly patio.

“Burbank's done a really good job of bringing in more people through marketing and special events, Story Tavern's owner, Diane Slaught, said.

“Plus, they inform and involve us in upcoming projects and changes to Downtown Burbank. As local owners, we benefit because we now know their short-term and long-term goals. It's created a great deal of optimism for me and many of the other restaurant owners, which is why we now have two restaurants in Downtown Burbank.”

The entertainment district also benefits from a significant workforce population thanks to local employers such as Nickelodeon, Zenith Publicis Media, Tesla, and Hollywood Production Center.

Among its major attractions is one of the top three highest-grossing AMC’s worldwide.

Source: GlobeSt/ALM