Pepperlot, an online marketplace designed specifically for restaurant real estate, has launched a website to enable operators and professionals to buy, sell and lease restaurant space across the US.

Founded by commercial real estate professional Alex Rusu, the company aims to address how foodservice operators source and secure suitable premises.

Rusu said: “Restaurant real estate has always been a fragmented, slow process.

“Operators spend months searching through listings that were never built for food service.

“We built Pepperlot to fix that. A focused marketplace where buyers, sellers, landlords, brokers, and agents can connect around the right kind of space from day one.”

The company noted that the platform is now open to brokers, agents, landlords, tenant representatives and restaurant operators nationwide.

Brokers and agents can advertise restaurant properties to a targeted food and beverage audience and target users looking for those specific types of spaces.

Tenant representatives and operators can also search with the knowledge that every listing is for restaurant use, not general commercial space.

Alongside listings, Pepperlot includes tools intended to support location decisions.

The platform’s location intelligence features let users track nearby competitors by cuisine, spot timing or market gaps, identify market gaps, analyse local income and population data, and judge demand for a site before agreeing a lease or purchase.

The company is expected to add additional features throughout the year.