Steve is the Founder, Principal Broker and Chief Executive Officer of Restaurant Realty Company. Since 1996 Steve has personally completed the following projects which represent hundreds of millions of dollars of business and real estate transactions: 1) sold/leased over 1000 restaurant, bar or night club businesses, 2) sold over 40 related commercial buildings, 3) leased over two million square feet of commcercial space and 4) completed over 3,000 restaurant valuations. His real estate experience also includes sales, acquisitions, management and ownership of numerous properties throughout California including restaurants, hotels, apartment buildings, single family houses, an office building and a multi-use retail building. Steve is also the author of Restaurant Dealmaker – An Insider’s Trade Secrets for Buying a Restaurant, Bar or Club available on Amazon.
Prior to starting Restaurant Realty Company Steve had over 20 years of restaurant experience and was President and Chief Executive officer of Zim’s Restaurants, which was one of the largest privately owned restaurant chains in the San Francisco Bay Area with 37 restaurants during its history.
Steve is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and University of San Francisco’s School of Business. He holds a California State Real Estate Brokers License (License #01310250), State of California College Teaching Certificate, and he has earned the industry’s top designations for advanced education which include: the Certified Business Broker (CBB) designation awarded by the California Association of Business Brokers (CABB), the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation awarded by the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and the Mergers and Acquisitions Mastery Intermediary (M&AMI) designation awarded by the Mergers and Acquisitions Source (M&A Source). Steve was awarded the Fellow of IBBA (FIBBA) for his leadership role in teaching courses and conducting workshops at IBBA educational events and he has been a Co-Star Power Broker recipient for multiple years.
Steve has lectured at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, taught management courses at San Francisco City College Hotel and Restaurant School and the former School for Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at Golden Gate University. Steve has been a regular guest lecturer at the California Culinary Academy (CAA) in San Francisco for several years. He has teught the CABB Principles of Business Brokerage Course and IBBA Restaurant Sales, Valuation and Lease Analysis Course to real estate brokers and agents.
He is a member of the California Association of Business Brokers (CABB) and is on the Education Committee. At HFLA, a non profit lending nstitution, Steve currently holds the following positions; Immediate Past President, Chairman of the Nominating and Loan Committees, Member of the Board of Directors, Exceutive, Audit and Business Loan Committees. Additionally Steve is a member of Vistage CEO coaching group, BizBuySell Broker Adviosry Council, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, California Restaurant Association, Cornell University Hotel Society, Cornell University Real Estate Council, the International Association of Business Brokers (IBBA) and Mergers & Acquisitions Source (M & A Source). Steve’s non-profit work has included participation on the Board of Directors of the following organizations: California Association of Business Brokers (CABB), the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, the JCF of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, the MJCC and the Northern California Cornell Alumni Association. Additionally Steve has participated in the Marin Homeless Coalition Lunch Program for over 15 years.
Steve has extensive experience as an expert witness and works regularly with many attorneys and the courts regarding valuations, leases and acquisition and disposition matters.