Assessor database
One of the DEKK Group’s latest Dunkin’ Donuts buys, at 323 Whalley.
Dunkin’ Independent Franchise Owners
Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee king Konstantino Skrivanos (third from left) at 2018 charity gala.
A Massachusetts-based “mega-franchisee” bulked up its regional fast food holdings by purchasing three local Dunkin’ Donuts outlets for $4.6 million, in the city’s latest property deals.
According to the city’s land record database, on Oct. 21, holding companies controlled by Evangelos Moutoudis and Konstantino Skrivanos of the Westborough, Mass.-based The DEKK Group purchased Dunkin’ Donuts fast food restaurants at 864 Whalley Ave., 323 Whalley Ave., and 295 Blake St. from holding companies controlled by Jay Patel of Wallingford.
Moutoudis and Skrivanos bought the one-and-a-half-story, three-unit “strip store” property at 295 Blake St. for $2.2. million. That property last sold for $950,000 in 2010. It was last appraised by the city as worth $909,800.
They bought the single-story fast food chain property at 323 Whalley Ave. (pictured above) for $1.5 million. That property last sold for $750,000 in 2011, and was last appraised by the city as worth $661,250.
And they bought the single-story commercial building at 864 Whalley Ave. for $900,000. That property last sold for $325,000 in 2011, and was last appraised by the city as worth $370,100.
City of New Haven land records database
“We own other stores in New Haven,” and decided to buy these three Dunkin’ Donuts because they were up for sale, Moutoudis told the Independent during a phone conversation Thursday.
When asked how many Dunkin’ Donuts outlets his company owns in New Haven and throughout the region, he said, “I’m not gonna get into details. We are the franchisees in the area. I don’t really want to get into it.”
According to FranScope, a privately-run database tracking franchise outlet ownership across the country, Skrivanos owns upwards of 105 different Dunkin’ Donuts outlets from Brooklyn to Washington D.C. to Alexandria, Va.
That database states that Skrivanos already owned seven different Dunkin’ Donuts outlets in New Haven in addition to his most recent purchases, though none of the other local properties listed are owned by his company, according to the city assessor’s database.
According to this New York Daily News article from 2008, a Brooklyn-based Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee and her lawyer accused the fast food chain of suing small business owners over minor infractions so as to consolidate ownership of outlets in the hands of “trusted investors like Skrivanos,” who reportedly owned “more than 100 locations along the East Coast” at the time.
This 2009 article published on the Dunkin’ Donuts Independent Franchise Owners webpage describes Skrivanos as a “mega-franchisee,” It states that the chain has been accused of wanting to “force small operators to sell to favored operators at below-market prices”.
The DEKK Group’s Indeed.com company profile page describes the company as a “fast growing franchisees [sp.] of Dunkin Donuts” with outlets in Connecticut and New York.
When asked for comment on the DEKK Group’s latest local buys, a Dunkin’ Donuts spokesperson told the Independent by email that the fast food chain is a “100% franchised brand” and that all Dunkin’ restaurants are independently owned and operated by individual business owners.
She wrote that the average Dunkin’ franchisee owns eight restaurants and has 150 employee across their network.
“In this case, the previous franchise owner was looking to sell and the Skrivanos Group was the ideal candidate to acquire these three Dunkin’ locations in New Haven because they own and operate other Dunkin’ locations in the area,” she wrote. “We have strong relationships with our world-class franchisee community, and we are proud that our franchisees with networks of all different sizes continue to expand their networks during this unprecedented time.”
According to the Dunkin’ Donuts company database, there are 16 different outlets of the regional coffee fast food chain located in New Haven. They span East Rock, downtown, Fair Haven, Whalley, Beaver Hills, the Annex, Quinnipiac Meadows, Westville, Amity, and the Hill.
City assessor’s photo
The Popeye’s fast food outlet at 35 Whalley.
The three Dunkin’ Donuts outlets weren’t the only local fast food venues to change hands in recent weeks.
On Sept. 30, a holding company controlled by Paret Singh of Hyde Park, N.Y., purchased the Popeye’s fast food restaurant and surrounding outbuildings at 31, 35, and 39 Whalley Ave. for $2.1 million from a holding company controlled by Ali Butt of West Windsor, NJ. The properties last sold for $1.1 million in 2018, and the city last appraised them as worth a total of $679,400.
Mandy Spends $3.8M On 30+ Apartments
32 Elm St.
In other recent property transactions, affiliate companies of the local mega-landlord Mandy Management spent over $3.8 million buying nine different primarily residential properties containing over 30 different apartments in downtown, East Rock, Fair Haven Heights, Newhallville, City Point, the Annex, Beaver Hills, and Whalley.
“We continue to acquire properties in New Haven because the fundamentals of owning investment property in New Haven make sense,” Mandy property manager Yudi Gurevitch told the Independent by email Friday afternoon when asked for comment about the recent purchases.
“New Haven has incredible income stability at all income levels because of the universities and hospitals and smaller (but not risky) employers. Our international pool of investors considers New Haven to be unique and sees no reason to slow our acquisition strategy.”
On Oct. 14, the Mandy-affiliated holding company Re Fund II SFR 1 LLC purchased the 11-unit, mixed retail-residential building at 32 Elm St. from Putnam Avenue LLC for $1.275 million. The property last sold for $415,000 in 2002, and was last appraised by the city as worth $1,329,500.
On Oct. 20, Re Fund II SFR 1 LLC purchased the five-unit, mixed use residential building at 633 Orange St. for $750,000 from 633 Orange Street LLC. The property was last appraised by the city as worth $551,500.
On Sept. 2, Re Fund II SFR 1 LLC purchased the five-unit apartment building at 54 Judith Ter. for $600,000 from 118 Ogden LLC. The property last sold for $220,000 in 2017, and was last appraised by the city as worth $294,900.
On Oct. 2, Re Fund II SFR 1 LLC purchased the one-unit office condo at 399 Whalley Ave., Unit 103 for $325,000 from 276 Howard LLC.
On Sept. 25, Re Fund II SFR 1 LLC purchased the three-family house at 139 Beacon Ave. for $275,000 from John and Carmela Acampora. The property was last appraised by the city as worth $209,100.
On Aug. 7, Mandy Management owner Menachem Gurevitch purchased the two-family house at 103 South Water St. for $240,000 from Anthony Lawrence Lobo. The property last sold for $61,000 in 1994. The property was last appraised by the city as worth $194,100.
On Oct. 5, Mandy property manager Yehuda Gurevitch purchased the three-family house at 89 Hubinger St. for $211,100 from the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The property was last appraised by the city as worth $200,500.
On Oct. 14, Re Fund II SFR 1 LLC purchased the single-family house at 174 Hazel St. for $130,000 from Jason Lavorgna. The property last sold for $150,000 in 2009. The property was last appraised by the city as worth $121,800.
And on Oct. 21, Re Fund II SFR 1 LLC acquired the single family-house at 366 Quinnipiac Ave. via a quit claim from Omar Gonzalez for $1. The property was last appraised by the city as worth $79,500.
Gurevitch told the Independent that Mandy’s goals for these recently acquired properties are to “charge fair rents; address inspection issues; improve properties where maintenance has been deferred by the prior owner.”
When asked about Mandy’s acquisition of 32 Elm St. in particular, and about how the local real estate venture rarely buys buildings downtown, Gurevitch replied, “32 Elm is unique as a mixed use property with the possibility of a dense renovation or rebuild in the future based on its particular configuration and zoning Currently, we have no plans to renovate or demolish to replace with a new building. But as you know, multiple properties within a block of that property have approvals to be built out at far greater densities like the Harold’s building and the parking lots near the Children’s Museum. We will be interested to see how these new construction projects integrate into the rental market in the coming years and the success or failure will inform whether we consider a new construction build in the years to come.”
Previous property sale coverage:
• Parking Drives $6.85M Boulevard Deal
• Winstanley Snags Temple Medical For $21M
• Local Builders Buy Fair Haven Warehouse
• Yale Buys York Townhouses For $2.85M
• So Long “Heights On River.” Hello, Mandy
• Beacon Bulks Up 9th Sq Holdings
• Lot Buyer Promises Affordable Apartments
• Mandy Picks Up 10 Houses For $2.2M
• ConnCAT Buys Dixwell Clinic Building
• City Buys Walt’s Cleaners For Dixwell Plan
• 2nd Try Adds $1M To Purchase Price
• Investors Drop $1.1M On East Side Condos
• Out-Of-Town Builder Buys Park St. Block For $4.7M
• Ocean Spends $1.45M On 7 Houses
• 66 Norton Sells For $1.46M
• Mandy’s Buying Spree Tops $16.1M
• “Rt. 34 West” Hotel Site Sold For $2.8M
• Spinnaker Flips Comcast Project For $14.6M
• Sherman Medical Building Sells For $2.7M
• Pike, Mandy Spend $2M+ In Latest Buys
• 200+ Apartments Planned At Empty Eyesore
• Annex Apartments Sold For $3.95M
• Mill River Office Building Sold For $4.65M
• Local Landlords, Albertus Magnus Expand
• Mandy Buys Warehouse For $1.6M
• Pike Collects $890K On Wooster Sq. Sales
• Springside Apartments Sell For $3.2M
• Family Dollar Sells For 1.8M Dollars
• Pike Sells 2 Buildings To Yale For $3.8M
• Mansion Sells For Only $1.45M
• Landlord Tops 340 Units
• High Street Apts Sell For $25M+
• St. Michael’s School Sold, For Apartments
• Ocean Management Acquires Perrotti Westville Properties
• Paris Realty Picks Up 6 Q Meadows Condos
• Landlord Boosts West River Condo Holdings
• $21 Million Changes Hands In 2 Days
• 50 Factory Jobs Coming To Fair Haven
• Brendan Towers Sold For $6M+
• Investors Drop $917K On West Side Condos
• Mandy’s 2018 Buying Spree Nears $13M
• Mandy Empire Buys Up The Block
• Roots Planted In Newhallville
• Latest Sales: Mandy Buying Spree Continues
• Latest Sales: Mandy Expands In City Point
• Latest Sales: East Rock Home Buy Tops $1M
• Latest Deals: Beulah’s 5th Rehab On Block
• Latest Sales: NHR Sheds Small To Focus Big
• Latest Sales: Mandy Buys In Heights
• Home Sale Price Doubles In 13 Years
I'm struck by the fact that the fast food places sold for more than twice their appraised values. Appraising is more of an art than a science. But I wonder if this is part of a broader pattern.