Flipside burger joint in downtown Santa Rosa sold

The owner of a downtown Santa Rosa pub confirmed Friday that he is buying Flipside Bar & Burger, one of two Santa Rosa eateries being sold by Paris-born entrepreneur Nino Rabbaa.

Sonu Chandi, the co-owner of Stout Brothers Pub & Restaurant on Fourth Street and six North Bay Mountain Mike’s pizza franchises, said he already has taken over operations of the Third Street burger joint and expects the transaction to close escrow in early January.

“The deal is done,” Chandi said. “We officially took over from him Nov. 18.”

Chandi said he and his brothers, Joti and Sunni, have agreed to pay close to $400,000 for the business, which employs about 30 people.

He said they plan to revamp and diversify the menu, which was heavily weighted toward burgers, and to change the restaurant’s name. The changes should take place sometime in January.

It is common for restaurant operators looking to get out of the business to let buyers take over operations before escrow has closed, Chandi said.

Chandi said he discussed with Rabbaa the possibility of also buying the second Flipside restaurant, Flipside Burgers & Wings on Calistoga Road, but wanted to keep his investments focused on downtown Santa Rosa at the moment.

In addition to buying Flipside, Chandi said he is opening a restaurant in the longtime home of landmark Santa Rosa bar and restaurant Portofino, just two doors down from Stout Brothers. He plans to open Craft 535 Kitchen & Bar in the space in January, as well.

The sale marks the first of what will likely be several changes ahead for Rabbaa’s Flipside Hospitality & Entertainment following a key investor’s recent decision to back away from ambitious expansion plans.

In addition to the two Flipside locations, Rabbaa had plans to reopen his shuttered Rendezvous Bistro on Fourth Street as Flip-a-Crepe, a fast and fresh creperie concept, and to open Flip Brewhouse, a microbrewery and restaurant, in the former Latitude Island Grill space on Roberts Lake Road in Rohnert Park.

Rabbaa, 39, moved to the United States in 2005, and opened Rendezvous Bistro with his father-in-law in 2009. Subsequent investors have helped him expand, including a partnership with New York-based Invest Hospitality in 2013.

But the group, for unknown reasons, decided over the summer to scale back its investment with Rabbaa and not to move forward with the creperie and brewhouse projects, both of which were far behind schedule.

Chandi said his investment in two new downtown restaurants is backed by Exchange Bank and reflects his strong belief that downtown has tremendous growth potential.

He said he’s a big supporter of the reunification of Old Courthouse Square and thinks the controversial project, while disruptive for a period, will ultimately prove to be good for downtown.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com.