Written by Alexandra Burris for the Baton Rouge Business Report |  November 28, 2016

Three Baton Rouge real estate brokers have purchased the Rite Aid at 4848 O’Neal Lane in the Shenandoah Business Park for roughly $2.2 million.

Brokers Hank Saurage, Edward Rotenberg and Donnie Jarreau formed limited liability companies to buy the property in a deal that closed last week.

According to documents filed with the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court’s Office, Two Crazy Dudes LLC, represented by Saurage and Rotenberg, bought a 66% interest in the property, while SW Real Properties, represented by Jarreau, bought a 34% interest.

The seller is listed as Seymour’s LLC, represented by Alyce J. Lazar, of 334 Hermosa Place, Palm Springs, California.

Jarreau says he and his partners were able to buy the property as a long-term investment before it hit the market. They liked the location and the tenant, he says.

The seller, Jarreau says, was ready to exit this market and expressed some concern about the $9.4 billion merger of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid Corp. The merger, according to published reports, is expected to be completed by next year.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the companies are expected to sell between 500 to 1,000 stores by year’s end to gain approval from federal regulators.

Jarreau says he and his business partners are not worried about the merger because the property is in a great location and could attract another tenant if the need arises. The current tenant, though, has been great, he says.

Earlier this year, Jarreau, Saurage and Rotenberg purchased the former McAlister’s Deli property at 7242 Perkins Road for roughly $1.4 million.

Randy Boughton with NAI Latter & Blum represented both sides in the Rite Aid deal.


Hank Saurage obtained his Real Estate Sales License in 1984, followed shortly thereafter by his Real Estate Broker’s License in 1986. To further expand his business, he then obtained his Real Estate Broker’s License in Mississippi in 1997. In 1990, Hank earned the CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation from the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute. He is also a member of the Louisiana Commercial Data Base (LACDB), the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), and the Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS® Commercial Investment Division (CID). 

Edward Rotenberg is a graduate of Baton Rouge’s Episcopal High School and Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.  An industrial member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors® (SIOR), he is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Investment Division of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS® (GBRAR CID).  He is currently a member of the Louisiana Commercial Data Base (LACDB); the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR); and the Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS® Commercial Investment Division (CID).

Saurage Rotenberg Commercial Real Estate is a member of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce (BRAC); the West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce; the Baton Rouge Better Business Bureau; the Louisiana Commercial Data Base (LACDB); and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Several agents, on an individual basis, are members of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors® (SIOR), the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute (CCIM); the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR); and the Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS® Commercial Investment Division (CID).