Junior’s of NY, Louie Bossi’s coming to Boca Raton

Two well-known eateries are opening in downtown Boca Raton this fall: Junior’s Restaurant and Louie Bossi’s, as the city’s dining market grows.

Junior’s, the iconic New York deli and bakery, will launch its first restaurant in Florida, said Jeff Sussman, owner of Sussman Restaurant Brokerage, who brokered both deals. The restaurant has leased 6,000 square feet at Mizner Park in a space formerly occupied by Ruby Tuesday.

Sussman told The Real Deal that after getting a call from the shopping center’s owner, General Growth Properties, that it was looking for a deli to replace Ruby Tuesday, he called Junior’s owner Alan Rosen, who got on a plane and met with him the following day.

“It’s one of the fastest deals in the 40 years I have been brokering restaurants,” Sussman said.

Rosen plans a 270-seat restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. Also included will be a full-service bar and a bakery, according to a release. Plans are to open in September.

Junior’s 200-item menu will include pastrami, brisket and corned beef and its 65-year old cheesecake recipe served at the restaurant’s Brooklyn landmark location since 1950.

Louie Bossi’s

Louie Bossi’s has leased 8,000 square feet with a 2,000-square-foot patio attached to the 200-room Hyatt Place that is currently under construction at the southeast corner of Federal Highway and Palmetto Park Road, Sussman said. The hotel is set to open in October.

“Downtown Boca is on fire between all the residential units, 2,000 residential units coming up out of the ground, the two major hotels — Hyatt and Mandarin Oriental — and then everything else going on with new retail moving downtown,” Sussman told TRD. “It’s our turn as they say, we’ve been kind of overlooked as a go-to place but its all changing.”

Louie Bossi’s menu is Italian, with homemade bread and eight different types of pasta, according to the release. The restaurant is part of Big Time Restaurant Group, which also owns Rocco’s Tacos, City Oyster, and City Cellar. The company opened its first Louie Bossi’s on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale last summer.

The real estate market for restaurants in Palm Beach County is strong, with heightened demand and rising prices attracting a range of eateries, experts say.

“Demographics — heavy high-end to middle class — are conducive to restaurant owners,” Tom Prakas, owner of restaurant brokerage Prakas & Co. in Boca Raton told TRD in December. “The population is rising, the economy is bustling and tourism is on the rise.”