A lot of pancakes in $4M IHOP sale

VENICE — An IHOP restaurant building sale is one of the most expensive restaurant acquisitions ever in Sarasota County.

Long Island City, N.Y. real estate investor Steven Newman bought the 4,985-square-foot Venice building for $4.07 million, equal to $817.8 per square foot. The seller is an affiliate of the Janice M. Scullin Living Trust of Ballwin, Mo.

The Sarasota County Property Appraiser lists only nine other full-service restaurant real estate sales for more money and most of them included additional property. Some of the more notable sales include the Chart House Restaurant building and Chart House Shops ($6.2 million), Troyer's Dutch Heritage and retail property ($5.19 million) and Crab & Fin seafood and retail building on St. Armand's Circle ($4.85 million).