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You won’t find Gourmet Franks’ signature hot dogs and sausages at Stanford Shopping Center anymore. After 43 years in business, Gourmet Franks closed its doors for good on March 17.
Owner Enrique Serrano decided not to renew his lease after he received an email from the shopping center’s property management company, Simon Properties. According to Serrano, the new five-year lease would have included a 65% rent increase. That bump would have raised his monthly rent to approximately $10,000 for the 366-square-foot space.
“What Simon did to me is really unfair,” he said. “I was doing my job with all my heart until four weeks ago when I received that email. I gave it my all, but after discussing it with my family I decided to close my restaurant and walk away.”
Asked to comment on Gourmet Franks’ rent increase, a representative from Citizen Relations, a public relations firm that represents Simon Properties, stated that Simon doesn’t comment on specific leasing details.
Serrano was all in, financially and emotionally. In early 2020, Serrano was approached by his brother-in-law, who asked if he was interested in buying the business from him. His brother-in-law had only owned it for seven months but was feeling overwhelmed. And although Serrano wasn’t necessarily looking to run a restaurant, he was in between jobs having just left Kelly-Moore Paints after 10 years, he said. After consulting with his family, he decided to help his brother-in-law and assume responsibility. Between improvements and loan paybacks, Serrano estimates that he put more than $150,000 into the business.
“I opened the business in July 2020 when the mall reopened during COVID,” he said. “At first, business was very slow, but over time I built it back up and have been doing well. I’ve been running it every day and have met so many great people.”
Serrano reflected and said, “I took it as a sign that they don’t want me here anymore. It is what it is. I have other things to do, other goals to achieve.”
Hi Enrique
I’m sorry for your business loss. I was born in Mountain View and went to school in Palo Alto. You should consider Castro St in Mountain View for your new location. The tram to Levi Stadium leaves from Castro street and you could sell your dogs to 49er fans on Ggame days or sell at the farmers market too. But you should seriously consider Mountain View instead of Palo Alto for your next location. I wish you well. John Shearer
I’m always confused by stories like this. The only asset a business like this has is their location/lease.
You don’t buy a business that has only a 4 year lease and invest any money in it. You can’t recover the investment before the lease expires
You negotiate a 10 – 20 year lease, then you buy the business, then you invest, knowing you have at least 10 years to recover the investment.
/marc