Retail | The New York Observer

Commercial Rent Regs Move Ahead

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:25:27 -0500

On Monday, Nov. 30, Councilman Robert Jackson went around the City Council to a handful of other members before he met with the staff of Speaker Christine Quinn. The meeting regarded his top priority, a bill that brings new rights to small businesses and new restrictions to commercial landlords. He had a request of the other members: Sign on to a petition to force a vote.

“He told me that he was meeting with the...

The Elizabeth Taylor of Retail

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:06:22 -0500

Faith Hope Consolo had already made herself crystal clear by the time she finally strode into the lush, sofa-lined conference room on Madison Avenue. Like the lag between lightning and thunder, the so-called retail queen’s New Yawkese streaks through the halls of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s third-floor office seconds before her arrival.

“I hope we’re going to take a fresh view!” Ms. Consolo squeals, singsong-like, as she marches through a hallway decorated with a half-dozen or...

Deer Loose in Flatiron! Footwear Firm Takes Floor at 902 Broadway

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:43:50 -0500

National footwear company Deer Stags Inc. leased the entire third floor, totaling 16,500 square feet, of 902 Broadway, the 20-story, 330,000-square-foot Flatiron office tower at 20th Street. Deer Stags will take the space early next year, once the build-out of it is completed. The firm is relocating from 1414 Avenue of the Americas.

The FirstService Williams agency team of Perry Mesmer, Marty Meyer and Seth Hecht handled negotiations for the landlord, 902 Associates.

“Deer Stags is...

Jérôme Dreyfuss Seizes Great Recession With First U.S. Boutique

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:37:34 -0500

The French handbag designer Jérôme Dreyfuss made a name for himself when he was barely in his 20s with an oeuvre that included corsets made of Scotch tape (they now hang in the Musée de la Mode); he’s now known for his luxe yet utilitarian totes and a slightly tempered vision. His sparse Paris store is scattered with bags at once slouchy and compartmental, modern but not trendy.

The designer’s first U.S. boutique will open...

Coach Savior Reed Krakoff to Debut Eponymous Line at 31 Madison

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:34:06 -0500

Reed Krakoff, the man who revitalized Coach, is starting an eponymous new label. In the not-so-distant past, Coach was the brand of boxlike purses that came in a brownish tan or made the occasional dalliance with black or navy. Your mom had one, everyone’s mom had one, and they would last forever. It looked, however, like the brand might not.

Under Mr. Krakoff’s tutelage, Coach not only became cool—its bags suddenly acquiring names like Soho...

C’est Bon! Maison du Chocolat Opening in Former Empire State Building Closet

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:23:20 -0500

Long regarded as the high priest of French chocolate couture, Robert Linxe opened his first chocolate salon, La Maison du Chocolat, in Paris more than 30 years ago. Now, with its luxe décor, decadent yet pared-down ingredients and refined Parisian sensibility, the chocolatier is making an unlikely appearance in a quintessentially New York landmark—the Empire State Building, through which four million tourists pass each year.

In 463 square feet formerly used for storage, La Maison...

Wolfgang’s Cuts Stake in Lipstick Building; Capitalizes on Vong’s Move Downtown

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:35:14 -0500

Five years ago, Wolfgang Zwiener, longtime headwaiter at Williamsburg’s famed Peter Luger, transformed himself from apprentice to master with the opening of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, a rival ode to bow-tied elegance and Porterhouse heft on the Manhattan side of the East River. Now opening its third New York location, Wolfgang’s is making its mark on Third Avenue’s elliptical Lipstick Building, whose past tenants include Bernie Madoff.

The restaurant’s 5,000-square-foot space was formerly occupied by chef Jean-Georges...

eBay Pops Up for the Holidays on West 57th Street

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:06:08 -0500

The prospect of eBay’s auction cybersphere dropping its cloak of virtual reality for flesh-and-bone bidding has long been a subject rife with speculation. What if you could see the seller auctioning off the suspiciously low-priced used laptop, or the bidder, crouched before the screen, waiting for the last minute to bid on your set of antique dollhouse furniture?

Presumably, a material-world eBay would put an end to the selling of, among other eBay curiosities, someone’s...

Yummy! Healthy Fast Food Chain—No Joke!—Leases near Grand Central

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:57:54 -0500

The phrases “healthy fast food” and “corporate social responsibility” may seem like oxymorons. The Bronx-based venture 4Food is experimenting with both, however, by opening fast-food restaurants that vow to put nutrition in value menus and, in the words of Google, not be evil.

The concept opened its first eatery close to the new Yankee Stadium earlier this year, serving up burgers, nuggets, fries and other traditional fast-food fare, with 60 percent of its food coming...

Trader Joe's Stakes Claim on Sixth Avenue

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:51:15 -0500

Trader Joe's, oh ye of endless lines, Hawaiian shirts, eerily pleasant staff, and to-die-for chipotle-flavored hummus, finally you're coming to Sixth Avenue!

The store has signed a lease for the retail space at the handsome Mattel Building at 675 Sixth Avenue, the storefront formerly occupied by Barnes & Noble, according to an industry source. Trader Joe's, as is its notoriously press-unfriendly wont, declined to comment for this story, except to remind The Observer that Trader...

Big-Time Fight Over St. Regis Retail; Chera Cries 'Conspiracy' in Lawsuit

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:16:49 -0500

Crown Acquisitions chairman Stanley Chera, owner of 15 million square feet of real estate, may have recently added a few of New York's most valuable retail properties to his portfolio: three exclusive Fifth Avenue storefronts occupied by Bottega Veneta, Pucci and De Beers. But that hasn't stopped him from accusing his onetime business associates of a Machiavellian "civil conspiracy" to cut him out of the group that was initially vying for ownership of the...

Renaissance Columns! Hanover Gourmet Plans Fancy Sandwich Shop for Starved Noho

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:59:22 -0500

Noho landlord Franmar was on the lookout for a hip young fashion tenant to fill its storefront gap at 648 Broadway in a neighborhood stocked with Urban Outfitters, Atrium Men’s and upscale fashion retailers. But in September 2008, it was becoming clear that the stars were aligning for, at the very least, an unpredictable economic climate. Real estate agency Lansco suggested that, in uncertain times, a good sandwich might have more staying power than...

Desigual? No, I Didn’t! Spanish Clothier Opening in Herald Square

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:13:53 -0500

Desigual, the Barcelona-based clothier whose use of geometric shapes and squiggly lines resembles something a preternaturally talented teenager might concoct, is opening a store in Herald Square, its first New York storefront (indeed, its first American storefront) outside of Soho.

Desigual has signed a lease for the old Baker Shoes retail space at 362 Fifth Avenue, at 34th Street, according to industry sources. This just months after Desigual took the old Kira Plastinina space at...

Does This Storefront Make Me Look Fat?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:18:30 -0500

In the age of designer jeans, it's hard to get excited about Levi's, maker of sensibly crafted and moderately priced denim wear that appeals to your mother.

But in this, the age of the frugal shopper, Levi's is apparently sensing an opportunity. The clothier is said to be working with PBS Real Estate's Laura Pomerantz to find new storefronts in Manhattan in which to hawk its 501 Boyfriends, its Low Skinny 531s and the like.

Ms....

Italian Shirtmaker Sews Up First U.S. Boutique at 509 Madison

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:33:06 -0500

Italian shirtmaker Camicissima is making its first foray into the buttoned-up world of U.S. men’s wear. Opening a corner boutique later this month at 509 Madison Avenue, the label has made a name for itself by following the rule of four—selling four shirts to a pack, that is.

In Europe, a four-pack of Italian-tailored men’s shirts goes for 99 euros (or about $148), but Camicissima is dropping its prices to $99 to make a dent...

Next Stop, Tishman Speyer’s Rock Center! Neil Young to Bless Lionel Pop-Up

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:57:58 -0400

In a universe a lot like this one, the subway clatters to a stop, the doors slide open and a disembodied voice intones, “Stand clear of the closing doors.” Except the universe is one-eighty-seventh the size of ours, and no sprinting figure attempts to defy the resolve of rapidly narrowing doors.

The world of model trains has always been a world deeply invested in realism: The building and the commanding of intricate networks of tracks...

Hip Hollister Inks Second Manhattan Location at Crown’s 668 Fifth

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:44:27 -0400

In July, Hollister launched its frenetically hyped flagship store in Soho, a four-story extravaganza of Southern California surfer ethos, complete with bronzed, swimwear-clad sales assistants obsessively folding $70 torn jeans. Apparently, the brand has filled a void in New Yorkers’ up-until-now unbeachy fantasy lives: The Abercrombie & Fitch brand announced it will open a second Manhattan location to tap into the burgeoning market of tween-age New Yorkers.

The 15,500-square-foot, multilevel store at 668 Fifth Avenue,...

Duane Reade Goes for Omnipresence: 200 Water First in Major Re-branding

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:54:57 -0400

Duane Reade is in for a makeover. The ubiquitous drug store chain is planning to re-brand 100 of its 253 New York locations over the upcoming year. High on the re-branding agenda are wider aisles and respectable lighting for the stores better known for dingy claustrophobia.

In tune with the re-branding, this summer Duane Reade unveiled a new marketing campaign to all but ensure its logo’s indelible mark on the city’s collective conscience. In addition...

P.S., I Love You: Popular Bookstore Relocates to Dumbo’s 70 Washington

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:05:12 -0400

An influx of celebrity authors, hipsters and rent-shocked Manhattan refugees is only the latest chapter in Brooklyn’s long-heralded bookish history. P.S. Bookshop, relocating to corner space at 70 Washington Street, promises to keep the borough’s literary blood circulating with its labyrinthine shelves of rare, used and first-edition books. Neither is Brooklyn’s next generation of bibliophiles neglected: The store maintains a wonderland of children’s books and hosts afternoon story-times complete with guitars and singalongs.

Not straying...

Dunder Mifflin Competitor Staples Inks Retail Biggie on Broadway

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:35:09 -0400

The days when buying office supplies with a shopping cart was an activity reserved for the suburban masses are a distant memory, as Staples makes yet another carbon-copied imprint on the streets of Manhattan. The world’s largest paper-pusher signed a 10-year lease for 3,700 square feet at 1755 Broadway, where it plans to open early next year.
The office supplies superstore, which does an annual $23 billion in sales, recently announced it would expand...

Mazel Tov! Young Rabbi Inks Deal For Soho’s Only Synagogue

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:31:49 -0400

Soho has a shul.

After four years of wandering in the desert of New York real estate, a 32-year-old rabbi who employs a modern aesthetic to attract the neighborhood’s hip, and often lapsed, Jewish set has finally found a semi-permanent home in the five-story, red-brick building at 43 Crosby Street.

Rabbi Dovi Scheiner signed the 12-year lease on Sept. 15—nearly eight years to the day after 9/11, which was also, in a rather unfortunate happenstance, his...

King Polo Starts Citywide Push With Queens Retail Lease

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:58:31 -0400

On the heels of this week’s City Council push for more grocery stores in areas of fresh-produce scarcity, a new supermarket with plans for citywide expansion laid the groundwork for a first store in Jamaica, Queens. King Polo signed a 30-year lease for 13,400 square feet at 89-14 Parsons Boulevard.

To spur the development of more grocery stores, the City Planning Commission passed a resolution, awaiting council review, that includes both zoning and financial incentives...

Bring on the Papadum Chips! Trader Joe's in Talks for Sixth Avenue Spot

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:01:47 -0400

Ever since Trader Joe’s opened its first New York City store on 14th Street in 2006, the act of shopping for organic frozen raspberries and dark-chocolate-covered almonds has come to resemble less a civilized shopping experience and more a death match between grimacing bobos wielding narrow metal shopping carts.

If all goes according to plan, that will soon change. For the better.

Trader Joe’s is in discussions to open another low-priced, high-quality food...

Seize sur Vingt Joins Posh Crowd on Greene Street

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:58:52 -0400

What do Conrad Aiken and Pontius Pilate have in common? At Seize sur Vingt, purveyor of high-end and custom-made suits, you can wear them both; to the tune of $200 a piece, the eponymous Egyptian cotton shirts add a dash of flair to the well-funded wardrobe. Seize sur Vingt’s new Soho home at 78 Greene Street will boast a custom clothing fitting room, what it calls a “serious upgrade to our video fitting concept”...

Watching Grass Grow: Prolonged Pain for Tavern on the Green Bidders

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:02:37 -0400

July has come and (really) gone, and the Parks Department has yet to choose a bidder to run the legendarily profitable Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park.

This spring, when the department was giving potential bidders tours of the premises, Parks officials made vague statements about issuing a decision in July. It being Aug. 21, at least one bidder is getting a tad antsy.

"It’s a very uncomfortable position, as you can imagine," said...

Esprit de Core? Apparel Giant Chomping at Apple Space on 34th

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:44:13 -0400

Remember that plot on 34th Street where Apple was all set to build one of its marvelous stores—that is, until CEO Steve Jobs famously (and outrageously) visited the site in person and declared the block between Fifth and Sixth avenues unworthy of his corporate presence?

Well, now Esprit is in talks with Apple to take over its lease at 21-25 West 34th Street, according to a source familiar with the ongoing negotiations.

Karen Bellantoni, of Robert...

Madison Avenue Retail Rents Plunge

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:38:50 -0400

Manhattan retail rents continued to fall in the first half of 2009, according to a report from CB Richard Ellis, reflecting an “ongoing weakness” that appears to be affecting retailers toward the higher end more than shops targeted to bargain hunters.

The toniest stretch of Madison Avenue, from 57th to 72nd streets, was the hardest hit. Average retail asking rents have declined 31.12 percent since the fourth quarter of 2008: from $1,087 per square...

The Last Ambiance Salesman

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:39:53 -0400

Location: Last August, just before the world crumbled, you said you catered to a clientele that ‘wanted a more sophisticated experience than dribbling beer on their running shoes.' Has the recession changed your outlook at all? Do you aim for less snobbery?

Mr. Grossich: Well, it’s not so much snobbery. At the end of the day, I’m a marketing guy, and marketing is all about selling and finding a...

Albee Zinger! Mammoth Downtown Brooklyn Spread Split in Phases

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:01:34 -0400

In a marked departure from original plans, City Point, the glass-clad, multi-use complex that was to be downtown Brooklyn’s own Time Warner Center, will now be built in two phases, according to sources familiar with the developer’s intentions.

The developer plans to build the first phase at the east end of Fulton Mall, on the site of the old Albee Square Mall, as quickly as possible. It will likely include affordable housing and some retail...

Manifest Density

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:55:53 -0400

The dramatic transformation of Manhattan’s far West Side, only two years ago, seemed shiningly imminent.

Mayor Bloomberg had been pushing the grungy, truck-filled area south of the Javits Center hard on the private sector; the city’s biggest developers started planning new hotels and apartment towers; commercial and residential rents seemed on an endless march upward; and the No. 7 subway line was being extended to 34th Street and 11th Avenue, making the area, for the...

Where Everybody Knows Your Name, Y'All

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:55:24 -0400

Sunny’s Bar on a recent Wednesday night was packed. The last of the longshoremen’s bars that once dotted the Red Hook waterfront, the sepia-toned watering hole is, nowadays, known as a bohemian stronghold and a vital neighborhood institution.

Tonight, customers are packed into the front room, swaying to the rhythms of Smokey’s Roundup, in full Western wear, play a swinging “San Antonio Rose.” Regulars kibbitz with the competent bartender. Visitors wander, examining the photography...

Nordstrom Rack Comes To Union Square South; Best Buy Moving In, Too

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:52:29 -0400

After months of speculation, Nordstrom Rack, in its eminently corporate way, has officially announced over the wire that it will open its first Manhattan store at One Union Square South, in the building owned by Stephen Ross' Related Companies.

Meanwhile, Best Buy will take the old Circuit City space in the same building.

(Updated) R. Webber Hudson, executive vice president of Related Urban Development, said that Best Buy would open this fall, and Nordstrom Rack, in...

T. J. Maxx Browses 57th For Second Manhattan Location

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:09:32 -0400

You tired yet of the J. C. Penney ad blitz? Just you wait. Thrifty is taking Manhattan.

Sources tell us that T. J. Maxx is actively looking to plant a second store in Manhattan and has recently homed in on Wien & Malkin’s storefront retail at 250 West 57th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. The discount retailer has another outlet at 620 Avenue of the Americas, according to its Web site.

Neither Cushman...

Union Square Virgin Megastore Space Trades for $4.81 M. (Updated)

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:35:02 -0400

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the closure of Virgin's Times Square store.

Virgin Entertainment Group sold its one-time Megastore space in Union Square to Union Square Development Associates for $4.81 million, according to a public deed filed on Monday.

The store, in a building owned by the Related Companies and located at 842 Broadway, has already had its clearance sale; and landlord Vornado Realty Trust has closed Virgin’s Times Square outpost....

Vornado Sues Italian Retailer Krizia Over Back Rent, Vacating Madison Ave Store

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:12:41 -0400

Steve Roth's Vornado Realty Trust is suing the Milan-based designer store Krizia S.p.A. for $343,333.33, plus interest and potentially more, for vacating its space at 769 Madison Avenue before its lease expired and for failing to pay rent.

The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court on June 11, alleges that Krizia chose to extend its $1 million annual lease, which was set to expire on March 31, 2009, for another five years—but then did not show...

Hook Lines: Postcards at the Edge

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:53:54 -0400

Editor's note: Hook Lines is a new biweekly column by Sadie Stein, an editor at the blog Jezebel and a Brooklyn resident, about the property and daily life of Red Hook. The first column can be read here.

“Sorry,” says Anne O’Neil, running across the street, clutching a sandwich, to unlock the door of her new shop, Tiburon. “I had to get lunch at Fort...

From Hendrix to Intermix: Bleecker Retail Exits the '60s

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:46:41 -0400

“Think Jimi Hendrix, think Bob Dylan,” a man walking with a small cluster of tourists last week up Bleecker Street told his camera-toting followers as they continued northwest past Seventh Avenue.

“Think Marc Jacobs,” seems far more accurate today.

And now think LTJ Arthur, as the sleepwear company opens its third New York City location – the others are on Madison and in the Plaza Hotel – joining Intermix, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, and other...

Hearst Hunts For High Class: As Company Courts Stylish Tenant, Ground Floor of Norman Foster Tower Stays Empty

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:53:21 -0400

It’s been more than three years since the Hearst Corporation has been looking for a tenant to fill the 14,000-plus-square-foot ground floor of its now not-so-new Lord Norman Foster–designed tower at Eighth Avenue and 57th Street.

Sources attribute much of the delay to the Hearst Corporation’s style of decision-making. Any retailer must be approved not only by the firm’s head of real estate, but also by its president and CFO. And then there’s the fact...

Hurray for Apple Cider! Madison Square Park to Get Autumn Market

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:35:06 -0400

A new autumn market is coming to Madison Square Park, care of the folks who organize the Union Square holiday market, along with the public-private Madison Square Park Conservancy that manages the greensward on behalf of the city.

Starting Columbus Day weekend, and extending through Halloween weekend, the west side of Madison Square Park will be host to a seven-days-a-week, open-air, artisan fair.

"It definitely has an autumn, fall, fashion and food theme," said Eldon Scott,...

As Stores Citywide Falter, Temporary Markets Grow More Popular with Retailers

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:16:14 -0400

As malls across the United States suffer diminishing sales, and storefront rents across New York City fall, markets of the more old-fashioned variety are growing increasingly more popular among retailers.

“[T]his year we are witnessing about a 20 percent increase in demand,” said Sar Inbar, one of three partners behind Upsilon Ventures.

Upsilon Ventures operates the Holiday Shops at the Pond at Bryant Park, and as the July 17 application deadline for vendors approaches, Mr. Inbar...

A Farewell to Hermes? Luxury Retailers Test Waters in Hamptons

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:24:53 -0400

As Manhattanites pack up their cars and zoom east on Friday, July 3, they will find Hamptons streets rather spiffed up, despite dire economic predictions.

According to real estate broker Faith Hope Consolo's retail newsletter, a branch of Michael Kors has opened at 55 Main Street in East Hampton this season. A couple of doors down, Hermes has moved in at 63 Main; a few more doors down, at 69 Main, Tommy Hilfiger has opened...

Broker, Please! St. Regis Markets Glittery Fifth Avenue Storefronts

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:20:42 -0400

Starwood Hotels, owner of the gloriously stuffy Astor-built St. Regis New York, has hired CB Richard Ellis investment broker Darcy Stacom to market its cluster of tony storefronts along Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, according to a number of industry sources.

Rumor has it that a group of investors approached Starwood out of the blue with an incredibly generous offer for the retail condominium—which houses pre-recession luxury artifacts like a De Beers outlet, and Emilio...

The Mystery of 787 Lex! Who's Taking the Doll Hospital?

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:26:53 -0400

A spa may be taking the place of 109-year-old Upper East Side fixture the New York Doll Hospital.

The hospital for broken and damaged dolls went out of business last May after its longtime owner, Irving D. Chais, passed away at the age of 83 after a long illness. “My understanding is that there was nobody in the family to take over the business,” said David Hazelcorn, who represents the building’s landlord...

Bloomberg On the Recovery; Business Owners On the Recession

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:41:46 -0400

“Put me down in the category of optimistic on the economy,” Mayor Bloomberg said at a sumptuous breakfast at Isabella’s Tuesday morning celebrating the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID)’s 10th anniversary. “But I don’t think we’re going to see a spur. I think you’re just going to see slow growth—but I do think we’re over the worst.”

Before darting off to speak at a fifth-grade graduation in the Bronx, Mr. Bloomberg pitched a...

Tell Us What You Really Think! Retail Brokers Gloom Rather Dramatic at Opera Booster

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:11:34 -0400

“I think the retail and the real estate markets are going to tank because there isn’t enough money to pay the rents,” said Perry Rothenberg of JDF Realty, who added that the downward spiral is already happening. “The down cycle is a snowball: it’ll take several years before things come back.”

Mr. Rothenberg added that the national economy is still “very soft,” and the government’s massive bailouts have yet to trickle...

Exorcising Leona From the Helmsley Hotel She Made Famous

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:36:28 -0400

The New York Helmsley Hotel, that 775-room inn trapped in a design hell of 1980s Greed-Is-Good glamour, is getting a face-lift, one to obliterate many of the fingerprints of the late Queen of Mean herself, Leona Helmsley.

While you still can, walk through the revolving doors of 212 East 42nd Street and step into the hotel’s intimate lobby, one of at least six in New York City where Leona reigned. You will find yourself standing...

Think Coffee to Peddle Caffeine Near NYU

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:16:44 -0400

As much as they annoy us, we have starving students—and wealthy N.Y.U. kids purporting to be starving students—partly to thank for the proliferation of independent coffee shops, particularly in these stormy economic times.

Jason Scherr, owner of the cafe that the New York Press named best new coffee shop in 2008, has signed a lease for about 1,600 square feet at 123 Fourth Avenue, between 12th and 13th streets, in which he will open his...

'David v. Goliath': Restaurateur Sues Moinian, Zuckerman

Tue, 19 May 2009 11:22:55 -0400

On Sept. 26, 2007, the second episode of Kitchen Nightmare’s season aired on Fox. Against a New York skyline, a deep voice intoned: “Tonight on Kitchen Nightmares: New York City may be the Mecca of fine dining, but in the heart of Manhattan is a restaurant in such bad shape it may prove to be Gordon’s biggest challenge yet.”

Cut to Gordon Ramsay, face contorted in horror: “Oh my God! What do we need, a...

Topshop Browses for More Duds

Tue, 12 May 2009 16:29:51 -0400

Don’t let the overhyped unveiling of the superlatively trashy Topshop in Soho distract you—the British clothing store has never ceased its search for yet more Manhattan locations.

Retail brokers say that Topshop owner Sir Philip Green is continuing to search for at least another couple of spots, about 50,000 square feet each, in all of the obvious high-traffic places: Fifth Avenue, 34th Street, Lexington Avenue near Bloomingdale’s, Union Square, Times Square, the meatpacking district, the...

DeGrezia Empire-Building on Third Avenue, Ashton's Pub to Relocate

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:55:31 -0400

The owner of the well-regarded and well-heeled Ristorante DeGrezia is, like any good New Yorker with capital and drive, empire-building. Joseph DeGrezia, owner of the Northern Italian boite at 231 East 50th Street, has signed a lease for 2,200 square feet just across the way at the ground floor of 805 Third Avenue, where Ashton's pub is now located (the technical address of the restaurant is 208 East 50th Street). According to his broker,...