Sterling’s former Applebee’s leased by restaurant group based in South Carolina

STERLING – After sitting empty for about four years, Sterling’s former Applebee’s Grill and Bar location was leased by a restaurant group in August.

The restaurant at 3920 E. Lincolnway was open for more than 20 years before it officially closed its doors June 7, 2020.

The restaurant group, Azul Cantina Inc., based in Charleston, South Carolina, signed a lease for the retail space from owner Harkness Properties LLC in August, according to commercial real estate company Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic.

The group owns and operates more than 35 restaurants in the United States under different brand names, Hannah Kamba, a real estate broker at CBCAtlantic, said in an interview with Shaw Local News Network.

Its main location is in downtown Charleston, where it operates a Mexican-style bar and restaurant under the name Azul Mexicano. It has three other locations under that same branding in South Carolina, Kamba said.

Kamba said she believes the group is plans to use that same branding at the location in Sterling.

Construction workers from Porter Brothers, an Arizona-based commercial general contractor, have started work on the parking lot. They expect paving to begin next week, Eric Edler of Porter Brothers told Shaw Local.

• The Telegraph/Sterling Gazette is committed to keeping readers up to date with business happenings in the area. Much of our reporting relies on what we see and hear, but we’re also reaching out to readers for tips on business items. If you have a tip to share for Eyes on Enterprise, email news@saukvalley.com.