A sprawling and eye-catching facility built along Highway 111 to house an upscale barbecue restaurant is getting a new operator.

The Kaiser Restaurant Group, which owns the Kaiser Grille and Chop House restaurants, plans to lease the 21,000-square-foot Jackalope Ranch restaurant and open Dec. 1.

“We're elated. The Kaiser Group obviously is well known throughout the desert for running incredible operations. We're very, very excited. We think it's an excellent fit for that location,” said Mark Wasserman, assistant to the Indio city manager.

The $18 million facility was built by Don Callender, owner of Babe's Bar-b-que Grill & Brewhouse at The River in Rancho Mirage.

The barbecue-themed restaurant was supposed to open this past summer as Babe's Jackalope Ranch.

The Callender Family Trust in late June, though, put the property on the market after “health issues” with Callender arose.

It is unclear exactly what those health issues were.

Lee Morcus, co-founding principal of Kaiser Restaurant Group, said he plans to keep Callender's dream for that facility alive.

His first tour of the building moved him profoundly, he said.

“I was in awe ... the magnitude of the place, the attention to detail, the quality of the fit and finish. It was overwhelming,” Morcus said.

The restaurant will serve “progressive, cutting- edge southwestern, barbecue and steaks.”

Food and wine events and local music and entertainment are also planned.

“Everybody — the entire staff and council — is extremely excited about this announcement,” Wasserman said.

The restaurant and bar facility sits on 6.4 acres and has landscaped event grounds that can host anything from a wedding to a hoe-down.

Morcus anticipates creating about 150 new jobs initially.

Despite the local recession, Morcus said his business was given an incredible and unique opportunity he couldn't refuse.

There is no other event facility or restaurant like this, he said.

“I think we have the ability to pull it off,” Morcus said. “At the end of the day it was the chance for our company to do something significant. We're excited about it.”