November 29, 2006

CHURRASCOS RESTAURANT COMING TO THE WOODLANDS TOWN CENTER

Cordua Restaurants has leased a 9,000-square-foot retail space in the 21 Waterway Avenue building in The Woodlands Town Center for construction of Churrascos, planned to open in the spring of 2007, according to Dan Leverett, vice president, commercial, for The Woodlands Development Company.

The bi-level restaurant will feature a bar on the street level and dining room overlooking The Woodlands Waterway® on the second level. According to Pat McCarley, chief financial officer of Cordua Restaurants, The Woodlands location will be different than other Churrascos because of the setting, which is being designed by Studio Gaia of New York, NY, award-winning designers of several W Hotels, and Tao in the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas among other notable projects. The design firm specializes in “artfully blending chic minimalism with a theatrical flair” to create some of the most fashionable environments in the country, according to McCarley.

Churrascos is a South American-style restaurant that incorporates the flavors of Latin American cuisine and utilizes high-quality American ingredients. Signature items include the Churrasco, a charcoal-grilled center-cut beef tenderloin steak; Tres Leches dessert – vanilla cake laced with three sweet creams and topped with a light meringue; and Cordua's signature plantain chips and chimichurri served on every table.

Churrascos was voted the Best All Round restaurant in the AOL's 2005 City Guide.

“We pursued Churrascos because it is a chef-driven restaurant that is widely acclaimed for its cuisine. The distinctive ambiance and cuisine offered at Churrascos will be a wonderful addition to the growing options for dining out in The Woodlands Town Center,” Leverett said. “There are now more than 40 restaurants to choose from, and that number will continue to grow with the development of the new Waterway Square and surrounding mixed use buildings. Frontage on The Woodlands Waterway® is a popular location for restaurateurs, offering the opportunity for both indoor and outdoor dining with great views of both The Waterway and the planned fountains and water wall at Waterway Square.”

Tom Estus, president of Shelby/Estus Realty Group, Inc. represented Cordua Restaurants and Greg Jordan, director of commercial sales represented The Woodlands Development Company.

The Woodlands is a 28,000-acre master-planned community located 27 miles north of downtown Houston. It is a project of The Woodlands Development Company, a limited partnership of Morgan Stanley and General Growth Properties, Inc.