Lotus Concepts to expand club empire with lease for old Ruth's Chris Steakhouse space

Francois Safieddine has done well with clubs like Suite Two Hundred, 24K, Oak Tavern and 5 Degrees, and he'll soon be expanding his club empire. Safieddine recently signed a multi-million dollar lease for the old Ruth's Chris Steakhouse space at 1445 Market Street in a building owned by the Denver...

By Jon Solomon

December 8, 2010

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Francois Safieddine has done well with clubs like Suite Two Hundred, 24K, Oak Tavern and 5 Degrees, and he'll soon be expanding his club empire. Safieddine recently signed a multi-million dollar lease for the old Ruth's Chris Steakhouse space at 1445 Market Street in a building owned by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. Safieddine may turn the space into a bar and restaurant.

Ruth's Chris went dark in May 2009.

In September, Safieddine also bought the Nisei lodge at 2015 Market Street from Nisei Veterans Heritage Foundation for a reported $900,000. Paulina Szafranski, Lotus Concepts vice president of marketing, says in early 2011, Lotus plans to move its offices into the second floor of the building, which once housed the Japanese restaurant Mori for decades but suddenly closed two years ago. As far as a concept goes, Szafranski says Safieddine is submitting construction plans to the city, but they don't currently have a name for the new venue or a complete concept to release to the public yet.

A few months ago, Safieddine's Lotus Concepts Properties bought for $1,525,000 the Zeppelin-owned building at 1414 Market Street, which is home to Oak Tavern and 24k .

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