RIPCO makes restaurant play with brokerage merger

UPDATED, June 16, 2022, 3:15 p.m.: RIPCO Real Estate is widening its interest in the restaurant business.

RIPCO acquired restaurant brokerage Branded Concept Development’s brokerage sector, the Commercial Observer reported. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

BCD CEO Andrew Moger will take on the title of RIPCO vice chairman and Moger’s investment and advisory arm, BCD Strategic Investments, will continue to be a separate entity.

Moger will be charged with hiring in each of RIPCO’s current markets in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, Miami and Tampa.

BCD is a leasing brokerage focused on food and beverage brands. The firm, which was founded in 2001, includes local clients such as Westville and The Smith, as well as larger national clients like Benihana and Panera Bread.

This is BCD’s second big change in as many years. Last year, the firm’s project management division was acquired by Philadelphia-based real estate consulting firm Watchdog Real Estate Project Management. The acquisition was designed for Watchdog to expand its customer base in the tri-state area, while BCD could take its services nationwide.

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BCD’s brokerage division remained separate from the areas acquired by Watchdog.

RIPCO has been a commercial real estate brokerage for three decades, but has zeroed in on submarkets, like the cannabis sector.

The brokerage established a team in the wake of New York’s legalization of marijuana to focus on representing tenants and landlords looking to lease space for recreational and medical marijuana sales in the tri-state area. As of late February, RIPCO had 35 clients that took a collective 125,000 square feet across the region.

This article has been updated with additional information from Branded Concept Development and to clarify CEO Andrew Moger’s role under the acquisition. 

[CO] — Holden Walter-Warner