Los Angeles Business Journal – Greenbridge Leases Floor in Pasadena

Beverly Hills-based Greenbridge Investment Partners has leased nearly the entire 12,000-square-foot ground floor of the historic Pasadena Star-News building to Wake and Late restaurants.

The expanding downtown Los Angeles-based breakfast burrito chain plans to use the culinary space – Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts’ former training ground for aspiring chefs – as a new storefront location for food and coffee sales and a large-scale bakery that will supply bread, pastries and baked goods for all three Wake and Late locations.

Located at 525 E. Colorado Blvd. in the heart of Pasadena’s financial district, the landmark building is near the Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena Civic Center, Paseo Colorado, and a plethora of dining and entertainment destinations.

“To support a culinary institute, the building showcased its incredible capacity to handle the simultaneous operation of multiple professional-grade kitchens where aspiring chefs perfected their crafts day after day,” Sean Hashem, principal at Greenbridge Investment Partners, said in a statement. “Greenbridge maintained the property as a culinary fortress that far exceeds the needs of our tenants. It allows them to significantly increase the production of menu items and reach more customers in the heart of Pasadena’s dining and entertainment district. The property offers a dream combination of production and sales capabilities that are a catalyst for a tenants’ expansion plans.”

The location and functionality as well as the architecture of the 1925-built site made the building attractive to the lessee. Designed by architect Joseph Blick, much of the original exterior has been preserved. The interior retains the large open spaces, ceilings and historic stonework from the original design.