Wakefield, RI Lila Delman Compass negotiated the sale of signature downtown commercial building 323 Main St. for $1.3 million. Gregory Arakelian, sales associate of Lila Delman Compass represented the seller and facilitated for the buyer in this transaction.

This vintage restaurant circa 1920 in historic Wakefield village was once a shoe store and then a fish market before it became Phil’s Restaurant over 80 years ago. Phil and Gladys Watson, the originators of Phil’s, sold the property in 1975, and a handful of owners maintained the same brand of nostalgic comfort food up until the present owner, Ken Tetzner, grew the business to such a local favorite that lines of customers were begging him not to close. When Tetzner decided to close the restaurant and sell the building, a friend recommended Arakelian, who is adept at curating high-pro?le properties. Arakelian was able to identify the right buyer from his client portfolio that will renovate the building for a modern-casual restaurant concept whose sister locations are Sombra Eatery & Lounge in East Greenwich, and Wickford on the Water in North Kingstown.

The property was sold as a multi-unit building, consisting of a 5,185 s/f restaurant unit and a 1,302 s/f boutique unit, totaling 6,487 s/f of retail space. With 95 linear feet of showroom frontage on Main St., the building also contains 1,400 s/f of flex space that was formerly an apartment. Other features included in the sale are 23 private parking spaces, city utilities, a full liquor license, 200-seat capacity, a roof-top lounge, mixed-use zoning, and an equipment list.

323 Main St. is the highest commercial sale in South Kingstown since Arakelian’s sale of another retail property, the 19,900 s/f Maine’s Shopping Center on Kingstown Rd., for $3 million in May 2024.

Arakelian specializes in retail, hospitality, and luxury residential sales, and has recently received CoStar’s Impact Award for Sale of the Year in Rhode Island.