The shuttered Hofbräuhaus German restaurant has a new owner
The Hofbräuhaus German restaurant on 4th Street, which closed several years ago, has sold in a $7.1 million deal.
Property owner Woodsgroup Holdings LLC sold the 17,297-square-foot restaurant space at 123 4th St. South and adjoining parking lot to an entity called 123 4th Street Wise LLC, which is connected to Nuri Erol, according to public records. Erol is the founder of the New York-inspired Wiseguy Pizza locations in D.C.
Erol was not immediately available for comment.
Hoffbräuhaus St. Petersburg opened in 2015, shortly after the owners of Hoffbräuhaus Chicago paid $2.7 million to purchase the building that once housed the Tramor Cafeteria. It was being used by the Tampa Bay Times as a staff cafeteria and meeting place at the time. The location featured a beer hall, beer garden and event room.
The original owners from Chicago later sold the business to Bavarian Partners.
Bavarian Partners later faced a lawsuit filed two years ago in Pinellas County Circuit Court by WG St. Pete LLC, the property owner.
Bavarian Partners “has refused or otherwise failed to pay the rentals due and still refuses or otherwise fails to do so,” the lawsuit said.
While it’s not confirmed what will fill the vacant space, sources close to the deal said it would likely be used for another type of restaurant development.
Jeremy Kral, a principal at the Southeast Retail Group, represented the seller in the transaction.
H. Haige
January 2, 2022at7:46 pm
Thanks for mentioning the Pinellas County Deeds; it does appear that a deed was filed 12/21/21, the date of your story. However, it does not yet appear in PCPAO listings updated to 1/1/22 and involved an LLC with the buyer’s name similar to but not the same as in your article, so was not discovered by me. One wishes the new endeavor well and hopes it continues long enough to equal a substantial portion of that Tramor’s 44 years of operation.
H. Haige
January 2, 2022at3:09 pm
Why does PCPAO not indicate the property has been sold as of 1/1/22??
Please advise what other “public records” indicate the sale.
There is no such entity as “123 4th Street Wise LLC” registered in Florida.
There is no “tiny kitchen” at all and certainly not the original kitchen! The original kitchen, feeding full meals to thousands and thousands of customers daily, two stories tall, spanned the entire width of the building and was demolished by the purchaser back in the 1980’s. The reference to a “tiny kitchen” may be to a space half the size of one of two different “salad rooms” in the Tramor devoted exclusively to making salads and cutting pies/cakes.
Greetings to all former employees (Susan and Michelle et al), patrons, and appreciators of the architecture of Tramor 4 from its management…
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Veronica Brezina
January 2, 2022at3:18 pm
The sale and LLC were listed in the Pinellas County deeds. The information, as indicated in the story, was found in the deed, the PCPAO and other public information in addition to speaking with the buyer and other sources involved in the sale and those very familiar with the property.
Liza
December 27, 2021at9:24 am
I love that building, and can’t wait to try the new food hall that opens!
Michelle
December 23, 2021at6:38 am
I used to work there. Any restaurant will struggle there because the building is historic so not a lot can be done to change the tiny kitchen. The kitchen can’t support the dining space, that’s why it took 45 mins for your pretzel.
Joseph Mingione
December 21, 2021at7:43 pm
$7.1 million sounds like that lot is going to get cleared for something much bigger.
Susan M Rothe
December 21, 2021at5:38 pm
I worked at Tramor in the early 70’s , it was magical
Dan Fitzgerald
December 21, 2021at3:48 pm
Fantastic building and location. Best wishes to the new owners.
Robert Ross
December 21, 2021at3:39 pm
It will never be as cool as the old Tramor.