Tom Cook for the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly | December 2011

In 2005, Kermas Enterprises built the Country Kitchen Restaurant on a parcel within Howell Place off Harding Boulevard. The property was completed and reportedly never opened for business. It was taken back by American Gateway Bank in October 2008 and was subsequently marketed and available for sale. On Nov. 9, American Gateway Bank sold the property to 1500 Walnut St., LLC, for $800,000—or about $160 per square foot on the 4,950 square foot building. The sale included all furniture, fixtures and equipment. Chris Shaheen with Saurage Rotenberg Commercial Real Estate brokered the transaction. The property had been listed for $995,000. The purchaser will lease the property to Boutin’s Cajun Restaurant.



Chris Shaheen is a graduate of Louisiana State University,where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.  Shaheen obtained the Louisiana Real Estate Sales License in 1995 where he began work as a consultant with Saurage Company Inc. and remains today as a specialist in development, land valuation, and financing with Saurage Rotenberg Commercial Real Estate.

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).