Piazza Blanca heads to auction block

Gavel gossip: Anyone in the market for a shopping center? Piazza Blanca, a 53,760-square-foot shopping center at 500 Seawall Blvd., hits the auction block in early June, reports Paul Galanis, managing director of CB Richard Ellis Auction Services.

The partially leased center, anchored by Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurant and adjacent to the 118-unit Emerald by the Sea condominium tower, will go the highest bidder at or for more than $750,000 ($14 a square foot).

Other Piazza Blanca tenants include IBC Bank, New York Pizzeria, coffee shop Lasso a Latte and sandwich seller Subway.

Restaurant Chico’s Paradise, adorned with a 30-foot-long airplane with a 40-foot wingspan, was one of the original tenants but nose-dived several years ago.

The retail center sits on prime property with Gulf of Mexico views. It’s near the University of Texas Medical Branch and Stewart Beach. But it has had its share of struggles.

In late 2007, Prudential Mortgage Capital foreclosed on the property after 500 Seawall I Ltd. defaulted on a $13.8 million loan. In late 2008, the property was up for grabs during a foreclosure auction, which drew about 20 people, but none who made a counter offer.

The auction is scheduled for noon June 2 at 2222 West Loop South in Houston. (Registration is at 11 a.m.) For information, visit www.cbre.com/auctionservices.

Want to talk about it? Visit Buzz Blog at galvnews.com.

May day: Fans of the island’s popular Sonny’s Place, 1206 19th St. — brace yourselves. The eatery known for homemade chicken soup, Tex-Mex pasta, triple-meat cheeseburgers and a chicken fried steak sandwich proudly dubbed the “Artery Clogger,” will be closed the first two weeks of May.

Since 1971, the restaurant has closed each June for repairs, maintenance and vacations. But this time, owner Lawrence Puccetti Jr. and family decided to close from Sunday to May 17 and stay open during June.

The reason?

Puccetti’s granddaughters — Kimberly and Christine Falgout — are graduating from Southern Methodist University that month. Kimberly earned a degree in business and Christine earned a law degree.

Sonny’s Place traces its roots to 1937. For information, call 409-763-9602.

Deep dish: Meanwhile, another iconic island eatery is slicing things up a bit. Mario’s Seawall Italian Restaurant, 628 Seawall Blvd., has launched its first new pizza in nearly 40 years.

The restaurant, known for hand-tossed and gourmet, wood-fired pizzas, has introduced “The Joey,” a Chicago-style pizza named after Joey Smecca, one of Mario’s Seawall’s owners and culinary expert.

The Joey is a traditional Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. The dough is patted out by hand and raised up high on the sides of a seasoned pan. The order of ingredients is “backwards” from a hand-tossed original crust pizza, Mario’s owners said.

Slices of Mozzarella cheese are placed directly on the dough and additional ingredients such as mushrooms, onions and sausage are spread on top of the cheese. For information, call 409-763-2825.

What’s the plan, Chan? Readers are reporting “Closed for Remodeling” signs at Uncle Chan’s Super Buffet, 10510 Emmett F. Lowry Expressway in Texas City but attempts to reach owners for reopening details were unsuccessful Monday. Stay tuned.

Glass houses: Everyone knows that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. But it’s also true that people who want permission to build glass houses on public property should show up for city council meetings.

The Santa Fe City Council on April 14 was prepared to consider allowing a company by the name of Ambiente Structures International to lease city property at 14321 Fifth St. to build a model home using recycled glass for the interior and exterior walls.

The proposal has caused quite a buzz in the mainland city, but representatives of the company did not attend the meeting. City officials tabled the item but said they would still consider the idea should Ambiente officials reschedule. Stay tuned.

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