The Director of Asset Management & Real Estate will oversee the company’s restaurant real estate portfolio, focusing on maximizing asset value, managing lease renewals, negotiations and driving strategic growth. This role is responsible for evaluating existing locations, negotiating landlord contributions for renovation projects, and partnering with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment of financial, operational, and legal objectives. This position is remote.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS & KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Asset Management
- Lead all aspects of asset management, including annual asset planning, lease renewals, extensions, relocations, and restaurant closures.
- Create and maintain lease abstracts for all active and future locations.
- Abstract and review Declarations, Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs), Easements, and Reciprocal Easement Agreements (REAs).
- Review and document Title Commitment Schedule BII Exceptions.
- Prepare comprehensive lease renewal packages at least 12 months prior to lease expiration, including Broker’s Opinion of Value (BOV), Financial Assessments, Operational Assessments, and Building Assessments.
- Analyze renewal data and develop recommendations to:
- Exercise options
- Negotiate additional tenure or split terms
- Close at the end of term or pursue early termination
- Negotiate renewal terms and finalize agreements with landlords.
- Maintaining the database and tracking milestones through Smartsheet’s.
- Present renewal packages and recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team for approval and ensure timely legal processing and execution.
Due Diligence & Real Estate Operations
- Oversee due diligence for existing and prospective restaurant locations in collaboration with Design, Construction, and Operations teams.
- Order, track, and manage due diligence reports, including:
- ALTA Surveys
- Title Commitments and Policies
- Phase I & II Environmental Reports
- Asbestos and Geotechnical Reports
- Site Investigation Reports and BOVs
- Lead the preparation and presentation of restaurant investment proposals.
- Evaluate existing restaurant portfolio performance to recommend renovations, relocations, or closures.
- Develop and maintain postmortem processes for real estate projects to improve accuracy, accountability, and cost control (budget vs. actual reporting).
- Partners with Legal to ensure Liquor and Business licenses are obtained for each new location.
Strategic Leadership & Collaboration
- Partner with Legal and Finance to identify and implement a real estate management software solution for leases, amendments, and estoppels.
- Continuously explore and implement technologies to improve site selection and enhance real estate operations.
- Initiate new restaurant development, including market planning, broker engagement, site selection, lease negotiation, and due diligence coordination.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with landlords, brokers, and third-party partners.
- Serve as a trusted advisor and subject matter expert on all real estate matters.
- Travel to new markets and restaurant locations as needed.
