WaBa Grill is expected to soon join the growing roster of Orange County-based restaurant chains following a recent office acquisition in the region.
The fast-casual food company, which counted some $136 million in sales last year according to industry data tracker Technomic Inc., plans to relocate its headquarters from the City of Industry to Orange County following its acquisition of an Anaheim office.
The company, which counts several Orange County restaurant locations, paid about $5.6 million for the 15,300-square-foot building at 181 S. Old Springs Road.
The building is in the Anaheim Hills submarket of Anaheim, near Weir Canyon Road, and just south of the Riverside (91) Freeway.
Duringer Law Group sold the two-story office for about $349 per square foot. The seller previously used the site for its headquarters, and will lease back part of the first floor in the short term.
The law firm will vacate by early 2022 when WaBa Grill occupies the entirety of the office for its new headquarters, according to brokers that worked on the deal.
WaBa Grill was represented by Brian Kim of Re/Max Diamond; Gary McArdell and Jake Buchanan of Lee & Associates represented Duringer Law Group.
OC Expansion
The office was build in 1991; it’s not yet clear how many WaBa Grill employees will be based there.
The headquarters relocation comes as WaBa Grill ramps up its OC restaurant footprint.
The chain, which specializes in rice bowls with grilled protein options like chicken, steak and seafood, most recently opened a location at 14551 Newport Ave. in Tustin.
A private investor bought the former restaurant building on the corner of Newport Avenue and Walnut Avenue last October for about $1.5 million, and has since demolished the prior property and built a new restaurant space for WaBa Grill that includes a drive-thru.
WaBa has nearly 30 locations in OC.
Record Year
WaBa Grill said it had a record year in 2020, with total system sales up 3%. North of 25% of all business came from digital sales channels, compared to 4.5% in 2019.
“Due to the simplicity of our menu, our food is prepared quickly, and we have our packaging down to a science which served our guests and delivery drivers well for fast pickup,” Chief Marketing Officer Mark Finnegan said early this year.
The firm had 191 locations in California and Arizona at the end of the year.Â
