Sagrati’s, an uptown staple for lunch-goers in Saint John for over two decades, is seeking a new owner to take over the Saint John City Market business.
Kylee Douglas has owned and operated the business herself for the last 16 years. She listed the 22-year-old business with EXIT Realty just before the New Year.
Sagrati’s kitchen has become well known for its made-to-order baguette sandwiches, wraps, soup, and salads. With its gluten-free options, desserts, smoothies, and milkshakes, Sagrati’s has also become a successful caterer to many uptown Saint John businesses.
Douglas decided to sell Sagrati’s to focus on another business, Pizzano’s Pizza & Donair, which she purchased last April.
“It’s definitely been my passion for 16 years — I’ve loved it and it’s really been good for me and good for my family, but It’s time to move on and focus on one business right now,” Douglas told Huddle.
Pizzano’s, meanwhile, operated with a faithful following for almost 24 years before Douglas bought it.
“It just happened to kind of land in my lap and I decided to kind of go for it. I live on the east side, so it’s closer to my house than the city,” said Douglas.
Pizzano’s had been closed for six months before Douglas bought the business. She has run it in addition to Sagrati’s for nearly a year, all while continuing to balance a busy family life.
A turn-key business for a new owner
Sagrati’s is listed for sale with all of its current food equipment, recipes, and no outstanding debt.
Douglas says she employs two others at Sagrati’s and notes January and February are notoriously very slow in the restaurant business, especially in the market.
During regular business, pre-Covid, and with cruise ship traffic, Sagrati’s employed about a half dozen staff throughout the week.
Sheila Kirkpatrick is a listing agent with EXIT Realty. She called the restaurant “a great opportunity for a business-savvy entrepreneur looking for a hands-on, customer-friendly business.”
While the listing shows 450 square feet of finished area, Kirkpatrick confirms the total space available is 703 square feet, with 602 square feet of retail area and another 101 square feet of basement storage.
Douglas, says the next owner of the Sagrati’s is getting a good deal on the business, which is currently listed for $59,900. She says if she sold the business three years ago, prior to Covid-19, it would have been worth more.
Better days ahead
As for keeping Sagrati’s a top food stop and caterer at the Saint John City Market, Douglas is hopeful the business will once again thrive under new ownership after the pandemic ends.
“I’m selling the brand with it,” said Douglas. “We have a great reputation and a lot of people know Sagrati’s, and from our catering, it’s very popular.”
Like so many in the food service industry over the past two years, Douglas admits it has been a difficult struggle for everyone in the market but adds she does see a light at the end of the tunnel for all eateries at the City Market and feels there are better days ahead.
“I’m really hoping that whoever decides to buy it continues on with that and build the business up again, to where it can be — and should be — as well as all the other businesses in the in the City Market,” says Douglas. “I think that it’s going to be a really good summer.”
Tyler Mclean is a reporter for Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
