On the morning of October 28, 2020, an arson fire destroyed Jilly’s Bar and Grill, a longtime Pikesville landmark. On Tuesday, April 7, 2021, Scott Reich, the owner of Jilly’s bought the adjacent property, and plans to be re-open for business by June. How Jilly’s got from devastation to rebirth is the rest of the story.
On that Wednesday morning, while the embers still smoldered and the pain was still raw, Steve Cornblatt of Trout Daniel sat down with Reich at the Pikes Diner and they began to strategize. Within days, Reich would learn the daunting cost, effort and timeline of rebuilding from ground up, and asked Cornblatt to explore with the neighboring restaurant property owner the possibility of his buying out Reich’s interest.
Fortunately, the neighboring property owner was represented by Gilbert Trout, also of Trout Daniel. Trout and Cornblatt, back in the office part-time after the initial COVID shutdown, had the opportunity to sit together and work through multiple scenarios. Trout went back to his client, only to find out thatthe client would not consider buying. However, he would consider being a seller.
The owner of 1006-1010Reisterstown Road had learned that one of his two tenants had purchased a building on the same block and would be relocating, and his other tenant, a restaurant, was feeling the COVID pain shared by all sit-down eateries. His motivation to move on to other opportunities matched up with Reich’s motivation to get back in business as soon as possible. Guided by Cornblatt and Trout, the principals quickly came to agreement. A Letter of Intent was executed December 8, just six weeks after the blaze, and a contract executed a month later. Within nine months of the fire, Jilly’s will be back in business with their former property serving as the location of a large outdoor patio and Tiki bar surrounded by their trademark palm trees.
States Cornblatt, “Owner Scott Reich vowed to reopen in less than one year; and he is on pace to open within about 8 months of that devastating event. Scott’s dedication to his customers and Pikesville is remarkable, and this deal wouldn’t have happened without the equally strong support of this community, his family and the seller, KNC Ventures.”
States Trout, “This sale was incredibly collaborative. The deal not only worked on a real estate-basis, but – more importantly – it showed how caring for others can combine with good business sense to drive growth and accelerate opportunity, even following a devastating fire. The seller was happy to be part of this important rebuilding process and was determined to make this transaction a success for Jilly’s.”
Positioned on Restaurant Row in the heart of Pikesville, 1006-1010 Reisterstown Road had most recently been occupied by Brendali Italian Restaurant and neighboring tenant, Aqua Vision Center. Notably, this is the fourth sale of this property that the firm has brokered since 2001.
About Trout Daniel & Associates
Trout Daniel & Associates is a full-service commercial real estate brokerage serving businesses throughout the mid-Atlantic and beyond. The firm takes a highly-customizable approach to providing a full range of commercial real estate services, including brokerage, development, consulting and management to the retail, office, industrial, multi-family and investment market segments.
For more information, call: 410-435-4004 or visit: www.troutdaniel.com.
