Food services honcho sells waterfront Jupiter spec manse for $18M

A food services honcho sold a waterfront spec mansion in Jupiter’s Admirals Cove for $17.8 million.

Records show Benjamin Aiello sold the house at 379 Eagle Drive to Casa 6 Revocable Trust, with William Pitofsky signing as trustee. The deed links the trust to another Admirals Cove home owned by Dr. Howard Tung, a San Diego-based neurosurgeon.

Donna Hutchins of Douglas Elliman had the listing, and Thomas Frankel with Admirals Cove Realty brought the buyer.

Aiello is president of Gourmet Dining LLC, a Madison, New Jersey-based food services company, according to LinkedIn. Compass Group, a global food services conglomerate based in England, bought Gourmet Dining LLC in 2014, according to the company’s website. Gourmet Dining provides food services for colleges and universities in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with $175 million in annual sales, its website shows. 

Aiello’s path to building the spec mansion on the Admirals Cove property began when he bought a mansion on a 1.3-acre double lot for $9.9 million in 2021, records show. He tore down the home, split the lot and sold the land at 381 Eagle Drive for $6.3 million last year, according to property records.

Aiello completed a 8,300-square-foot spec mansion on the remaining 0.6-acre property at 379 Eagle Drive earlier this year, property records show. The mansion has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and three half-bathrooms, according to records. With 190 feet of waterfront, the property also includes a theater, pool and dock, the listing shows.

It first listed in March for $18.5 million, Realtor.com shows. The slightly lower sale price reflects a growing trend of price cuts across South Florida, as a slowdown in sales has returned some power to buyers. 

Records show Aiello and his wife, Bernadette Aiello, also own an Admirals Cove condo at 1101 Captains Way. They bought the two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit for $750,000 in 2021, according to property records. 

Tung bought his other Admirals Cove home at 106 Quayside Drive for $6.3 million in 2020, the same year the 6,000-square-foot waterfront house was completed. 

Admirals Cove is a gated boating-oriented community in Jupiter coveted by big-name luxury buyers. Superstar Mets pitcher Max Scherzer bought a second property in Admirals Cove for $14.9 million in April, bringing his total amount spent in the community to $24.7 million. Billionaire Ronald Clarke bought a second Admirals Cove mansion for $15.7 million in September. Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle bought a home there in 2021 for $9.7 million.