Corona, CA: Miguel's Jr Expanding (Rialto site ready for 3 restaurants)

Developer Fernando Acosta is hoping to bring in a triple play.

The three-acre site at 1925 Riverside Ave. is shaping up to have three restaurants by the end of this year, he said.

Acosta, a real estate broker who owns Popeyes and other franchise restaurants in Rialto, has been contracted by the city to negotiate sales for three parcels where Fire Station 202 used to be.

A deal with In-N-Out is considered a sure bet, but Acosta said last week that two other restaurants are likely to move there.

Miguel's Jr., a Mexican restaurant based in Corona, has signed a "letter of interest" on the site, he said.

Officials from that company could not be reached for comment.

Acosta said that several restaurant operators have interest on the third parcel but that it is too soon to reveal their identities.

The third parcel would hold the largest restaurant on the site. It would be a 5,000- to 6,000- square-foot business with 75 or more employees.

Miguel's Jr. would likely be in the 2,900- square-foot range and have about 50 employees.

In-N-Out would occupy 3,900 square feet and have about 60 employees, he said.

The restaurant planned by In-N-Out is a new design and will be larger than most In-N-Outs in the area, he said.

The Rialto Redevelopment Agency is investing $2.4 million on the project. It has paid for the demolition of the fire station and will upgrade infrastructure in the area, said agency director Robb Steel.

The agency will move a cell tower and utility lines and install a traffic signal at the entrance to the property's parking lot.

Steel said the agency will move forward with the project regardless of whether the state takes local redevelopment money, as Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed.

"It's pretty far along," he said.