It’s back to school and back to work! Fortunately, retail leasing professionals have been busy, signing leases for a variety of concepts, including a long-awaited (and much- needed) supermarket. Welcome back!
Click to Brick
E-commerce platform Shopify opened a two-level networking hub/retail space at Google’s former space at 131 Greene St. The space offers a rotating selection of New York-based brands, with inaugural brands including a garden center from Brooklyn and a specialist in coffee from Vietnam. A coffee/snack shop is joined by workstations, a photo studio and podcast studio.
Baubles, Bangles & Beads
Adinas Jewels, a fashion jewelry company, is moving from clicks to bricks by opening a pop-up retail location on the ground floor of 68 Prince St. in Soho, previously occupied by high-end Swiss brand, Bally.
Wining and Dining
Sushi Inoue will open in the first quarter of 2022 at 223 West 125th St., just below the new Apollo Theater, bringing its authentic omakase and Tokyo-styled sushi to Harlem. The Flatiron area is a touch more French with the arrival of L’Adresse Nomad at 1184 Broadway and the relocation of Mister French to 24 East 21st St. Mister French, a David Burke-branded restaurant featuring modern French cuisine, is moving from 218 Bowery to the 4,400-square- foot, former Almayass Restaurant space. Charley’s Philly Steaks will open at the Throggs Neck Shopping Center in the Bronx.
Convention-goers (they’ll exist again, right?) will have a new and safer dining option. Fresh and Fast, the first touchless café in any convention center in the U.S., debuted at the Javits Center in August. Using Amazon technology, the café offers user-controlled, check-out free access to items.
Marvelous by Fred comes from France (where it’s known as Aux Merveilleux de Fred) with its signature whipped-cream filled meringues (called merveilleux after post-French Revolution aristocrats) to 1001 Sixth Avenue, near Bryant Park. Restaurateurs Alex and Miles Pincus of Island Oyster and Grand Banks fame have leased space at 109 West Broadway for an unnamed concept opening in the fall.
Food, Glorious Food
Supermarket lovers, rejoice! Wegmans Food Markets will open its second store in New York City, and its first in Manhattan at the former Astor Place Kmart store at Vornado Realty Trust’s 770 Broadway in 2023. Under the terms of the 30-year lease, Wegmans will occupy space on both the street and lower levels of 770 Broadway for a total of roughly 82,000 square feet. A 1.2-million-square-foot landmarked building, 770 Broadway was the historic Wanamaker’s department store; Vornado later transformed it into an office and creative hub catering to technology and media leaders.
Just weeks after raising $170 million in Series A financing to expand in the Americas and Europe, Jokr, a German fast-delivery grocer, announced plans to open a storefront/fulfillment center at 1190 Fulton St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The concept plans to deliver items within 15 minutes of its small warehouses. Wow Wine & Spirits, a beer, wine and spirits store, will open its 11th store at 10 Park Ave. in Murray Hill.
Home Sweet Home
Mattress Firm will create a new flagship at the retail base of 200 Chambers St., a 30-story luxury condominium tower. The 3,437 square- foot store will be the first in the New York metropolitan area to feature Mattress Firm’s new interactive and digital displays tailored to customers with a personalized, complete sleep experience. The opening is anticipated for this fall. Furniture and lighting retailer Bungalow 5 is moving to 933 Broadway.
To Your Health
In a sure sign that in-person fitness classes are continuing their post-COVID-19 comeback, The Feil Organization has signed CycleBar and Pure Barre to a 10-year lease at its 1151 Third Ave. retail building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The 5,300-square-foot lease comprises the entire second and third floors of the boutique building, which has a dedicated entrance and elevator for fitness tenants. The space previously was occupied by Flywheel, which permanently closed all of its studios through Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Caring for Kids
Reports say that a daycare facility will open at 348 13th St. in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
That’s Entertainment
Want to practice your swing, even in bad weather? Indoor golf and restaurant concept X-Golf will open at the Samanea New York Mall in Westbury. It joins other entertainment concepts including Empire Adventure Park and Dave & Buster’s, as well as various restaurants and outlet stores. The center was once Fortunoff Mall at the Source.
Debra Hazel
Debra Hazel Communications New York, NY
(201) 618-5247
