French juice bar, lounge eyes Nolita site

Le Paradis du Fruits, a French cocktail lounge and juice bar, is eyeing 47 Prince Street at Mulberry Street, the vacant Nolita lot where a Shake Shack was once slated to rise, the New York Post reported.

But the French chain is already mired in zoning difficulties, the Post said. The site’s M1-5B zoning means any restaurant or bar needs a variance to operate on the ground floor, and this provision is what kept the popular burger chain from opening there, the Post said. Shake Shack abandoned its plans in 2010, after local activists spoke out against its proposal, which was to include a rooftop terrace.

Paradis’ representative appears to be Julie Louzon, of the commercial brokerage Isaacs & Co., who applied for the permits at the site, according to Department of Buildings records. [Post]