A San Diego developer has purchased several retail buildings with adjacent land in La Jolla for approximately $6.17 million – and one includes a landmark that traces its history to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
USA Properties bought the facilities and acreage from the Dewhurst Family Partnership and Dewhurst Family Trust, represented by Cushman & Wakefield.
The properties, which total more than 14,000 square feet, were fully leased at the time of sale. The sale included 9,800 square feet of retail space at 7545-7549 Girard Ave., a 9,700-square-foot mixed-use property at 7527-7535 Girard and a 6,670-square-foot parking lot on Herschel Avenue.
Among tenants in the 7545 building is Harry’s Coffee Shop, a landmark in La Jolla for more than 50 years. Founded in 1960 by former Brooklyn Dodgers batboy Harry Rudolph Jr., the restaurant’s ambience was and is inspired by Rudolph’s love for the Dodgers – it’s said that Rudolph moved to California because he was intent on following his team when it moved form Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1959.
Rudolph and his wife Catherine raised nine children in the area, and three Rudolph siblings run the eatery today. Rudolph died in 2009 at 79.