The Boulder Group has arranged the sale of a single-tenant, net-leased restaurant property occupied by Steak ‘n Shake in Aurora, Illinois. The free-standing asset traded for $1.27 million, underscoring ongoing investor interest in stabilized, net-leased restaurant properties within established suburban retail corridors. The property is located at 4333 Fox Valley Center Drive, positioned near the intersection of Illinois Route 59 and New York Street, a well-trafficked area within Aurora’s broader retail cluster.
The Steak ‘n Shake site sits directly across from Fox Valley Mall, a regional shopping destination totaling roughly 1,500,000 square feet. The mall is anchored by national department store tenants Macy’s and JCPenney, helping to support consistent consumer traffic in the surrounding trade area. The restaurant benefits from this co-location with a major retail hub, as well as proximity to several other large-format and specialty retailers that draw a wide customer base from Aurora and the broader region.
In addition to the mall anchors, the corridor surrounding the Steak ‘n Shake property features a roster of national retailers that further enhance the location’s appeal. Nearby operators include Costco, Whole Foods Market, The Home Depot, Menards and Meijer. This concentration of grocery, home improvement and club-format retailers contributes to steady daily and weekly visitation patterns, supporting restaurant demand and reinforcing the property’s positioning as part of an established retail destination.
Randy Blankstein, Jimmy Goodman and John Feeney of The Boulder Group represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction. The seller was described as an investment group that had held the restaurant as part of a broader net lease portfolio strategy. The buyer is a local investor acquiring the Steak ‘n Shake property as a net-leased investment, taking advantage of the long-term, single-tenant structure and the corridor’s strong retail fundamentals.
Commenting on broader market conditions, Blankstein noted that investor appetite for net-leased restaurant properties along established retail corridors has remained steady, even as interest rates stay elevated for an extended period. That backdrop suggests that well-located, income-producing net-lease restaurant assets in mature retail nodes continue to attract capital, with investors focusing on credit tenancy and durable traffic drivers despite a higher-for-longer rate environment.
