I am a current restaurant owner who is looking to become eventually full time real estate investor.

This “greater fool theory” of investing eventually caught America with its pants down.

I was just wondering if buying properties and rehabbing them would be a good way to transition into becoming a residential developer eventually?

There's a lot of different ways you can approach it as someone who will eventually have a high W2 income. 

Realize at the outset that real estate will involve all different types to service, maintain, repair, improve, insure, manage and eventually sell.  

If you put in the input to search for properties and make offers, you will eventually secure a deal whether that's in 1 week, 1 month or 5 months.

If you contact zillow through a bunch of ways (they also have social media outlets where you can comment, and that's what we did, in addition to all the other methods of contacting them) my understanding is they eventually do get back to you and are reasonable in resolving matters. 

If it is a non-Roth, everything eventually comes out at ordinary income rates, including appreciation which would otherwise be treated under capital gain rules.

Eventually we would like to fix up the short term rental in the Smokies as well, thinking that we could do this for approx. $5000.

Get basic formal education first from such name, and get upgraded eventually.... question like "what sponsor has to be avoided ?"