GK Development buys former Benihana in Beverly Hills for $20.5M

UPDATED, 7:30 p.m., April 27: GK Development recently bought the shuttered Benihana restaurant in Beverly Hills for $20.5 million, or $2,852 per square foot, The Real Deal has learned.

The transaction took place in late March, roughly three months after the restaurant at 38 North La Cienega Boulevard closed its doors. Tatsuro Shoji was the seller, according to CoStar, but could not be reached for comment.

The 7,000-square-foot restaurant was hardly an upscale Beverly Hills institution, but had its own following among tourists and as a black sheep eatery in the posh area. No definite development plans have been made yet for the new space, according to a spokesperson for GK, which is a private firm based in Beverly Hills.

However, the property was marketed by CBRE as a 21,996-square-foot development site. Joel Frank and Alex Bergeson were the listing brokers.

In the meantime, theatrical Hibachi lovers have options if they are willing to leave 90210. The Benihana franchise has several other Southern California locations, including outposts in Santa Anita and Downey.

This post has been updated to include the listing brokers. A previous version of this story identified the buyer as GK Development of Barrington, Illinois. The actual buyer is GK Development of Beverly Hills.