Movers & Shakers: F&B-focused brokerage launches & more

Stephen Smith left the Hogan Group to join Tower-CRE

Stephen Smith and Felix Bendersky
Stephen Smith and Felix Bendersky

Miami broker Felix Bendersky is launching F+B Hospitality Brokerage, a firm focused on leasing and advising food and beverage, nightclub and hotel tenants.

Bendersky, who worked for Whitehall Realty Advisors, plans to grow the brokerage to about 10 agents over the next two years. He recently brokered leases at X Miami for Inari Sushi and a new fast-casual pizza concept by the owner of Brickell’s Stanzione 87.

Bendersky founded NightOwl Deliveries, a company that eventually sold to GrubHub. In Miami, he created Green Star BioDiesel, a grease collection company that converts restaurant cooking oil into biodiesel.

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Stephen Smith joined Tower Commercial Real Estate as senior managing director. He was previously vice president of the Hogan Group, and has 28 years of experience in leasing and marketing new commercial developments, according to a release. Tower-CRE, led by Jon Blunk, has been expanding and recently added a tenant representation group. The brokerage’s leasing portfolio totals more than 4 million square feet.

Melanie De Armas was named chief operating officer at RE/MAX Advance Realty, Miami’s largest RE/MAX agency. De Armas was previously a branch manager at Fortune International Realty.

Butters Realty and Management hired JC Conte to lead its industrial leasing and sales based in Broward County. Conte has worked for the Staubach Company, which was later sold to JLL and CBRE, and was the principal of his own firm, JC Commercial Realty Consultants Inc.