Prakas & Co

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Boca Raton., Fl., October 27 2009-Florida hotel and restaurant owners seeking expert advice for owning and operating a successful business in the state of Florida can now call upon visionary Florida restaurant broker Athan "Tom" Prakas and legendary veteran Ken DePasquale for consulting expertise including site selection, management, development, operation, marketing and financing expertise.

"After negotiating more than 400 restaurant deals throughout the state in the past seven years, the time finally came to add a consulting division to our hotel and restaurant real estate brokerage services," Prakas says. "With the forty plus year expertise of hotel and restaurant owner and operator Ken DePasquale, this established new Hospitality & Management Consulting Division at Prakas & Co. will deliver the perfect extension of operator advice to Florida hotel and restaurant owners."

The collaborative team joined consulting forces via the onset of reviving The Original Harpoon Louie's Restaurant of Jupiter- one of the nation's top 25 grossing restaurant concepts- launching this month oceanfront at the Deerfield Beach Pier. The historic all-day oceanfront dining concept established in 1979 at the Jupiter Inlet served over 600,000 meals in its heyday and was sold in 1986 to the Japanese For a record-breaking $7.5 million.

"Together, we're a formidable team," says DePasquale. "It takes solid years of experience and wisdom to know how to operate a successful hotel and restaurant. Every detail truly is critical to your bottom line. Our combined efforts will offer area hotels, restaurants, and restaurant chains a competitive edge for profitability in this marketplace unlike any other. It's not just about selling real estate, it's about improving the value of the real estate," DePasquale says.

Prakas & Company's Hospitality & Management Consulting Division currently operates out of three offices in Florida, and can be contacted at the Boca Raton, Orlando or Ocala offices via online at www.prakasgroup.com. Tom Prakas is available at tprakas@prakasgroup.com or at the Boca Raton office at 561-368-0003, and Ken DePasquale can be reached at kendepasquale@aol.com or at the Ocala office, at 352-357-8899.
For more information about this story, or to schedule a media interview please call Michelle Soudry at The Gab Group, 561-750-3500 or email msoudry@thegabgroup.com

About Athan Tom Prakas

Athan Tom Prakas has over twenty five years of experience in the restaurant, nightclub and sports bar industry. He has owned 27 popular establishments throughout Ohio, Georgia and South Florida. Prakas heads up the consulting division at Prakas & Co., which specializes in hotel, restaurant, hospitality and commercial properties throughout the state.

Prakas & Co. has established exclusive relationships with high profile names in the hospitality industry including Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Chops Lobster Bar and City Fishmarket for Florida locations, the successful Taverna Opa Greek restaurant concepts in Florida and Las Vegas, NV and The David Manero Restaurant Grouo's orooerties in Florida which include DeVito's South Beach, which opened in

June 2007 to major tantare. Additionally, Prakas & Co. has orchestrated 26 of 29 restaurant deals on Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach's hottest new restaurant and nightlife strip.

About Ken DePasquale.

Legendary hotel and restaurant veteran Ken DePasquale brings over forty years of successful hotel and restaurant management expertise and wisdom to the new Hospitality Division of The Prakas Group. He is the founder and CEO of an independent restaurant and catering company and owner of an elite restaurant and hotel management consulting firm that specializes in the design, development, operation, management, marketing and financing of restaurants, cafes, hotels, motels, resorts, country clubs, and select other businesses in Florida and around the country. His long list of professional accomplishments in the industry has earned him an award distinction in Hospitality Magazine's "Hall of Fame".

DePasquale's noted restaurant accomplishments include the development of Carmichael's Restaurant 8 Catering Company, an established independent restaurant and catering company in Ocala, Florida, and the Jupiter Inlet Trading Company, a successful group of restaurants, clubs and a catering company. He was also President and Founder of Valley Forge Associates, a series of hotels, motels and specialty restaurants throughout the United States.

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