Houston-based Baker Katz has acquired the Baytown Seafood restaurant in east Houston and plans to replace it with a new shopping center.

“It’s a site that we have had our eye on for years,” said Kenneth Katz, principal of Baker Katz. “It’s in a trade area that’s of interest to retailers we work with. The site was underutilized.”

The restaurant sits on 30,000 square feet, or nearly two-thirds of an acre. It’s at Interstate 10 East and Haden Road near Uvalde, and is close to a Home Depot, Sam’s, Academy Sports & Outdoors and Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Baker Katz plans to demolish the Baytown Seafood building to construct an 8,000-square-foot building that it plans to fill with restaurant and retail tenants. The new building would likely house three to five tenants.

The Baytown Seafood is set to close by the end of June, with construction of the new building expected to begin in late summer, Katz said.

“There’s a lot of concern about the upstream side of the energy business. The east side of town is getting increased focus because of the existing infrastructure, the refineries,” Katz said. “There’s a sentiment that that side of the city is insulated from potential risks associated with economic contraction.”

Although incomes in the region are moderate, averaging $50,000 per household, people tend to have high levels of disposable income, Katz said. He attributes that to relatively low housing costs and people not living beyond their means.

“They have great pensions and stable jobs,” Katz said.

New shopping centers are going up at Beltway 8 and U.S. 90 to the north, at Beltway 8 and Crenshaw in Pasadena to the south, and in Baytown to the east.

“There’s not a lot of new retail development right around this area,” Katz said.

Neal Wade of Baker Katz spearheaded the acquisition. The seller was Kody & Kosa.

Baker Katz is a full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm specializing in retail tenant representation, investment sales, and project development and leasing.