Matt Epstein has purchased Vitello’s Restaurant from Steve and Joe Restivo for $3.175 mm. The Restivo’s were the original owners who built the famed Italian restaurant now well know as the scene of the crime in the Bonny Lee Bakley murder.
The deal was handled by Sagiv Rosano of Rosano Partners, arguably the fastest growing commercial real estate firm in Los Angeles.
After 20 years in the restaurant business, the Restivo's, two brothers from Sicily, decided they wanted to retire. The sale took place during the trial, and the deal marketing was confidential. The property went on the market at $3.1 mm with Rosano employing a unique approach involving direct contact with a handful of potential buyers. After speaking to national restaurant owners and real estate investors who owned properties in the valley, Rosano, along with the Restivo’s, agreed to sell Vitello’s to Matt Epstein for $75,000 over list, provided he keep the restaurant as is.
To eliminate a capital gains tax, Rosano Partners coached the Restivo’s to use a 1031 exchange mechanism and differ the gain into another income producing property. This allowed the Restivo’s to retire to a higher annual income than what they were making before.
