Overview
ARS Brands is seeking a Senior Real Estate Manager to drive growth across our portfolio of restaurant brands. This role is responsible for identifying, evaluating, negotiating, and securing high-quality restaurant locations that support the company’s aggressive expansion goals.
The ideal candidate is a strategic and results-oriented real estate professional with a proven track record of developing market growth plans, sourcing premier locations, negotiating complex transactions, and successfully navigating sites through franchisor approval. This individual will serve as the primary real estate lead for assigned markets while providing leadership and direction to the Development Coordinator, ensuring the development pipeline is effectively managed from site sourcing through project handoff to construction.
Key Responsibilities
Market Strategy & Development Planning
- Develop and execute market growth strategies that support franchise development agreements and long-term brand expansion objectives.
- Evaluate trade areas, market dynamics, competitive landscapes, and white-space opportunities to identify priority growth corridors.
- Partner with leadership to establish annual development goals and site acquisition targets.
- Conduct market tours and field evaluations to validate development opportunities and market assumptions.
Site Selection & Pipeline Development
- Proactively source and secure premier restaurant locations, including drive-thru pads, endcaps, freestanding buildings, conversions, and redevelopment opportunities.
- Build and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified sites within assigned markets.
- Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with brokers, developers, landlords, property owners, and franchise development partners.
- Identify off-market opportunities and leverage industry relationships to gain a competitive advantage in target markets.
Analytics & Site Evaluation
- Utilize tools such as Placer.ai, SiteWise, demographic reporting, traffic data, mobile location analytics, and competitive intelligence to evaluate site performance potential.
- Prepare comprehensive site recommendations supported by quantitative and qualitative analysis.
- Analyze market trends, competitive activity, and development opportunities to support strategic decision-making.
- Continuously evaluate emerging real estate technology, AI tools, data platforms, and market intelligence resources to identify opportunities that enhance site selection, market analysis, and development decision-making.
Negotiation & Transaction Management
- Lead negotiations of Letters of Intent (LOIs), lease agreements, amendments, and purchase transactions.
- Maximize tenant improvement allowances, landlord contributions, rent structures, and other economic terms to optimize project returns.
- Partner with legal counsel and internal stakeholders to drive transactions from negotiation through execution.
- Manage critical transaction timelines to ensure development commitments and opening targets are achieved.
Franchisor Approval & Due Diligence
- Collaborate with the Development Coordinator to prepare and present site approval packages to franchisor real estate committees.
- Coordinate due diligence activities, including zoning reviews, entitlement assessments, utility investigations, environmental reviews, and site feasibility evaluations.
- Partner with Construction, Operations, and Facilities teams to identify and mitigate project risks.
- Maintain compliance with franchisor development requirements and approval processes.
Team Leadership & Development
- Directly supervise and mentor the Development Coordinator, providing guidance, training, and professional development opportunities.
- Delegate and oversee site administration activities, including site approval packages, lease abstraction, critical date tracking, and pipeline reporting.
- Establish priorities and workflows to ensure projects move efficiently through the development process.
- Foster collaboration across Real Estate, Construction, Operations, and Facilities teams to support successful project execution.
- Drive accountability, process improvement, and best practices within the development function.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Facilitate seamless project handoff from Real Estate to Construction team to minimize time-to-open.
- Maintain accurate pipeline reporting, development forecasts, and project status updates for leadership.
- Serve as a key contributor to annual development planning, capital allocation discussions, and growth strategy initiatives.
Qualifications
Required Experience
- 5+ years of commercial real estate experience with a strong focus on QSR, retail, restaurant, or multi-unit franchise development.
- Demonstrated success sourcing, negotiating, and executing restaurant real estate transactions.
- Proven track record of achieving aggressive development and unit growth targets.
- Experience managing multiple projects, markets, and priorities simultaneously.
Skills & Competencies
- Strong financial, analytical, and negotiation skills.
- Ability to evaluate site economics and market opportunities using data-driven decision making.
- Exceptional relationship-building and networking abilities.
- Strong organizational and project management skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
Technical Skills
- Proficiency with Placer.ai, SiteWise, Smartsheet, Microsoft Office, and other site selection and market analytics platforms.
- Experience with demographic analysis, traffic studies, and location intelligence tools.
Preferred Qualifications
- Existing network of commercial brokers, developers, landlords, and industry contacts within ARS Brands’ growth markets.
- Multi-brand franchise development experience.
- Previous experience managing, mentoring, or developing team members.
- Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Business, or a related field.
Pay: $85,000.00 - $112,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- How many years of experience do you have in Real Estate in the Restaurant industry?
- What are your salary expectations?
- This position is located in Dallas and Dallas area candidates need only apply.
Work Location: In person
