Tickets available for Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille 3rd Anniversary Celebration
Press release from Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After three years as the namesake and leader of Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille, Coach Steve Spurrier’s accomplishments in the world of restaurants are starting to rival his legacy on the field.
Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille will celebrate its third anniversary on Monday, August 12, 2024. The number one restaurant in North Central Florida and the top destination for college football fans from across the nation has a lot to celebrate and will celebrate with the key ingredient to their success – fans of great food.
From 4 p.m. until 10, Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille will be packed with fans of the locally owned part restaurant, part museum, and special guests from the Gator Nation. A premier buffet of favorites, from a filet mignon carving station to prime rib to shrimp and grits and the special cookies Jerri Spurrier would make for every player’s birthday will be served. Also on the menu is a healthy side of fun and once-in-a-lifetime experiences including door prizes, raffles, and giveaways, including autographed items.
Spurrier’s is teaming up with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida to raise money. A portion of all food sales, as well as all beer, wine, and cocktail sales, will be donated to the local chapter assisting families with seriously ill children receiving treatment at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital.
The flagship restaurant of the Gator Nation plans to run up the fun after past years’ celebrations attracted many of Coach Spurrier’s former coaches and players, including big stars from the Gator Nation and college football. The anniversary party has become the event to attend, and this year looks to be no different.
Tickets are $66 each. Go to www.spurriers.com to get yours secured today.
Who: Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille
What: Third Year Anniversary Celebration
When: Monday, August 12, 2024, 4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Where: Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille, Celebration Pointe, 4860 Steve Spurrier Way Gainesville, FL
Celebration Pointe is composed of fifty plus separate LLCs owned by the same person. Three of these LLCs have filed for bankruptcy, owing about $200 to $300 million.
One of the three bankrupt companies is “SHD-Celebration Pointe, LLC.”(L13000159169). SHD-Celebration Pointe, LLC, is owner of another business, “Spurrier’s Gridiron Grill Celebration Pointe, LLC.”(L19000104531) located at 4860 Steve Spurrier Way.
They may run a restaurant, but they do not own one.
The restaurant building, parcel 06820-002-014, is owned by SDPS Real Estate Investments V, LLC(L18000065802) which is owned by SHD-Celebration Pointe, LLC. (See how the LLC shell corporation game works?)
The restaurant owner has not been a model citizen. They failed to pay their Alachua County property taxes for 2019 and the county tax collector sold a Tax Certificate for the unpaid amount.
They failed to pay their Alachua County property taxes for 2020 and the county tax collector sold a Tax Certificate for the unpaid amount.
The 2023 property taxes of $68,888.01 were not paid by the deadline. Tax certificate 1946 was sold for $73,383.81 to Mercury Funding of Memphis at 6.5% interest.
Please go enjoy a $66 buffet at this event. Perhaps one of the ‘charities’ they will give money to is the government of Alachua County for all their back taxes. As an Alachua County citizen who pays his taxes, I consider myself and my county government a ‘charity’ as worthy as the Ronald McDonald House.
No, I don’t hate sick children. But I do despise bankrupt businessmen who don’t pay their taxes to a government who gave them over $30,000,000 to build a sports center and millions more to the money losing prospect of the World Masters Track meet, with no end in sight of the tax money flow to a tax deadbeat.
Do they have a special “visor toss” entrée? If not, I’m out, regardless of the restaurant’s bankruptcy status.
We don’t have a “Visor Toss” but we do offer Chicken & Wuerrfels at our premium brunch every Saturday and Sunday!
Big plans, big money, bulldozed hundreds of old growth live oak trees and drove off unto the sunset.
And guess who’s gonna pay for this mess?
Great local city and county leadership. Not!
Someone got paid off.
There are a lot of mistruths in this comment.
We are located in Celebration Pointe. We are not owned by Celebration Pointe. We are an independent business that pays rent to Celebration Pointe. The bankruptcy issues facing Celebration Pointe have zero to do with Spurrier’s any more than they do Bass Pro Shops, Regal Cinemas, or the dozens of other businesses currently flourishing within the development.
Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille pays taxes and helps bring in millions of economic stimulus to the city. We pay our rent and our taxes monthly and on time. There are no special tax breaks offered to Spurrier’s and we do not ask for anything from the county or city that is not offered to all businesses. We partner with dozens of locally owned businesses, from the janitorial crews to the bookkeepers to the many farms and produce companies that supply the ingredients that make our farm-to-table menu.
We have a team of over 100 hardworking people who make Spurrier’s a great place to visit for a delicious meal, handcrafted cocktails, private events, or to look at the artifacts of Coach Spurrier’s legendary career. To say that they are working to avoid taxes or cheat the city is wrong and hurtful. Together our amazing crew and valued guests have made Spurrier’s one of the top 25 independently owned restaurants in the state of Florida.
With Coach Spurrier at the helm, we have made it a point of our business model to support our community. Gators Help Gators. We are hosting a celebration for our third successful year on August 12th. As we do every year, we will partner with the local Ronald McDonald House Charities. 66% of all food sales and 11% of drink sales will be donated to help them in their mission to support families. In October we will partner with local charities fighting cancer. We will continue to partner with dozens of organizations monthly, donating gift cards, merchandise, and more to raise funds to enrich our community.
I am available to anybody who would like to discuss the misleading statements in the comment above or the many, many ways that Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille works to benefit both our community and the Gator Nation.
Sincerely,
Freddie Wehbe
Managing Partner and Part Owner
Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille
Freddie@Spurriers.com
The facts stated in the referenced post are all public records available online. You may verify them yourself at:
Alachua County Clerk’s office
https://alachuacounty.us/Depts/Clerk/PublicRecords/Pages/PublicRecords.aspx
Alachua County Property Appraiser
https://www.acpafl.org/
Alachua County Tax Collector
https://www.alachuacollector.com/
The Department of State Division of Corporations
https://dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/search/
At the Department of State is
SPURRIER’S GRIDIRON GRILLE CELEBRATION POINTE, LLC
Document Number L19000104531
Principal Address
4860 Steve Spurrier Way
Gainesville, FL 32608
Title Manager
JAMES GRAY HOLDINGS III, LLC
NEWBERRY, FL
Title Manager
WEHBE, FREDDIE
GAINESVILLE, FL
Title Manager
SHD-CELEBRATION POINTE, LLC
Gainesville, FL
(surprisingly, no one named “Spurrier.)
I assume this is your business. Manager/co-owner SHD-CELEBRATION POINTE, LLC.
However SHD-CELEBRATION POINTE, LLC is in Federal bankruptcy court, along with two other Celebration Pointe shell LLCs. Follow along at
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/52716579/Celebration_Pointe_Holdings,_LLC
Two of the three LLC corporations in this bankruptcy case owe over $780,000 to Alachua County in unpaid property taxes. Fact. On your restaurant. Fact.
You claim you pay your rent to your landlord on time monthly and I believe you do. However, your building is owned by SDPS Real Estate Investments V, LLC, which is owned by SHD-Celebration Pointe, LLC, your bankrupt business partner. SHD-Celebration Pointe, LLC, is owned by Svein Dyrkolbotn, the developer of Celebration Pointe. Your statement “We are not owned by Celebration Pointe” is at best smoke and mirrors disinformation, or at worse, wrong.
Svein Dyrkolbotn IS Celebration Pointe IS Svein Dyrkolbotn. You pretend that this is news you do not know. Well, now you do.
Your claim “The bankruptcy issues facing Celebration Pointe have zero to do with Spurrier’s” is flat out wrong. Your co-owner and your landlord are in bankruptcy court. For you to claim it has “zero” to do with you is simply incredulous.
All these shell LLCs are owned and operated under the unified control of Svein Dyrkolbotn. The “SHD” in SHD-CELEBRATION POINTE, LLC, is “Svein H. Dyrkolbotn”. Fact. If I am wrong or making it up, please provide proof.
Your co-owner and landlord is taking your rent payments, and NOT paying the property taxes on your building. Tax certificates are sold. This is not your doing. Your restaurant’s property risks being sold on the courthouse steps for unpaid taxes, giving you a new landlord. I hope they don’t double your rent.
You can do a great public service by contacting your landlord and asking three questions:
1. Why do you take my rent payments and not pay your property taxes?
2. Where did the money go instead?
3. Why didn’t you tell me the county property taxes are not being paid?
And then please post the answers here on this thread to inform the public and the slew of bankruptcy lawyers who I am sure read this forum. Thank you.
Dear Chef: Your online menu shows some pricy steaks (for Gainesville). It appears you are trying to pass yourself off as a high end steak house (your business model choice). One thing all great steak houses serve is a really great baked potatoe, big steaming and fluffy. Your menu does not list a baked potatoe, only a side dish of MASHED potatoes for $8. Why don’t you serve baked potatoes?
I KNOW THEY ARE A SPECIAL TAXING DISTRICT LIKE DIZZY WORLD WITH EXPEMPTIONS. WHICH CONFUSES ME BECAUSE THE STATE OF FLORIDA CONSTITUTION, UNDER TAXATION SPECIFICALLY STATES ” NO TAXATION ON REAL PROPERTY”! ANOTHER SHELL GAME
The Alachua County BOCC created Celebration Pointe Community Development District No. 1 in 2012. The CDD was formed by a dead lady’s estate and a shell corporation that did not own the land but only had an option to buy. That is not a typo.
The CDD has borrowed $67 million from banks to pay for the roads and utilities to develop CP. (The $21 million borrowed from the State of Florida to build the I-75 bridge is a separate loan.) Patrons of CP pay an extra 1% sales tax on every transaction that is used to repay the CDD bonds. CP is the most expensive place in the county to shop because of this additional 1% tax. This tax is not on real estate and is legal.
SPURRIERS GRILL IS A CUSTOMER OF CARTEL OF CATTLE RANCHERS THAT SELL “PASTURE” CATTLE. BUT UNDER THEIR “THE SKINNY ON FEED” THAT IS ONLY THE PLACE THEY EAT GMO BEANS/GRAINS, INDUSTRIAL OILS AND FREEZE DRIED PASTRIES FROM LOCAL GROCERY STORES. CAVEAT EMPTOR.