The Denny's at 3701 Bee Ridge Road sold for $4.25 million on Tuesday, Aug. 4, just two days after the restaurant served its last meal.

A West Palm Beach investment firm called Rich Global, led by Nathan Rich, bought the 1.59-acre property in an off-market deal and plans to renovate the existing 6,200-square-foot building into two or three storefronts. At least one will have a drive-thru.

"We will not be knocking down Denny's," broker Tyler Sluman of American Property Group told the Business Observer. "We'll be renovating Denny's and making it two or three storefronts."

The seller is Julian Parry. Brian Seidel and Sluman, both of Sarasota-based American Property Group, brokered the transaction.

Sluman said the future tenants will be "a couple of brands that aren't in Sarasota yet" but declined to name them because leases have not been signed. No renovation start date or opening timeline has been announced.

Why the site drew interest

The property never hit the market. Yet it sits on 290 feet of Bee Ridge Road frontage and includes 100 parking spaces, a combination Sluman called "impossible to find."

Seidel, who grew up in Sarasota, said the site had attracted significant interest over the past decade despite never being listed.

"Denny's is kind of a unicorn site in Sarasota," Seidel told the Business Observer.

Sluman estimated he has worked with Rich on $40 million to $50 million in deals over the past four years. Seidel described Rich as having "a long vision for what these projects should be to improve the areas in which they're located."

More deals on Bee Ridge Road

The sale adds to a string of commercial transactions along the corridor. In April, a 9,441-square-foot office building at 2030 Bee Ridge Road sold for $3.6 million, according to the Business Observer.

Rich Global and the American Property Group team said they are actively looking for similar properties in Southwest Florida.

Leasing negotiations are ongoing. Residents can expect more details once tenant agreements are finalized.