City Hall 4 Rivers interior pre-opening
By Mark Baratelli
Update 10/7/15: The City of Orlando contacted me and asked that I correct the part of my sentence that read "and writing RFPs." They stated that was not correct. I told them I found it on Restaurant Partners, Inc's website and sent them a screenshot of the page that contained the sentence. The City told me the Restaurant Partners, Inc website is incorrect, so we made the proper edit below.
How did 4 Rivers land inside City Hall?
The City of Orlando owns several properties which it leases to outside entities to operate as restaurants:
and writing the RFPs, among other tasks.
As part of the lease terms, 4 Rivers is allowed use of the front patio and is responsible for cleaning and maintaining it.
- Relax Grill Lake Eola Park
- The Tap Room at Dubsdread in College Park
- Gargi’s Lakeside in Gason Edwards Park in Ivanhoe Village
- the restaurant space inside City Hall
The city worked with Restaurant Partners, Inc. CEO David Manuchia, one of the founding members of The Olive Garden, on picking a new tenant.
The needs of the city were specific:
- serve 7am-3pm, Monday thru Friday only
- provide breakfast and lunch with diverse and healthy choices
- make improvements to the site and provide for more seating and updates to the restaurant including both dining and service/cooking equipment
Manuchia presented the City with several concepts to the City’s Real Estate Division. 4 Rivers was one of those concepts. In an Orlando Business Journal's interview, owner John Rivers said "one of the city consultants contacted us about three or four months ago and told me about the site and the city’s interest in getting us, as well as other brands, downtown."
We do not know which other concepts were presented to the City’s Real Estate Division. We await answer to that question.
The city decided that 4 Rivers was the best choice for the space. In June the lease was approved by City Council.
The rent for 4 Rivers is $750 per month or 3% of the gross sales up to $700,000 (whichever is greater) with a 3% annual increase.
4 Rivers has invested $300,000 in the space, making improvements and renovating, according to the City.
As part of the lease terms, 4 Rivers is allowed use of the front patio and is responsible for cleaning and maintaining it.
The patio as well as the dining room is still a public space and belongs to the City, so anyone can use either.
City Hall 4 Rivers interior pre-opening
City Hall 4 Rivers interior pre-opening
City Hall 4 Rivers interior pre-opening
City Hall 4 Rivers exterior front porch pre-opening
City Hall 4 Rivers exterior front porch pre-opening
City Hall 4 Rivers exterior front porch pre-opening
City Hall 4 Rivers exterior front porch pre-opening