645 Madison Avenue (credit: PropertyShark.com)

Milan-based line Dodo has signed a lease for a 817-square-foot store, its first New York City location, at 645 Madison Avenue, in the heart of the “gold coast,” according to a statement from landlord TF Cornerstone.

The jeweler hopes to open this spring, according to the statement. While the forthcoming location, between 59th and 60th streets, is Dodo’s first Manhattan store, the company already plies its wares through high-end retailers such as Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf Goodman. Their other retail outposts in the states are in Short Hills, N.J. and Los Angeles, a spokesperson for TF Cornerstone said. [more]

James Famularo, managing director of NYCRS, and 504 Sixth Avenue

The West Village will be adding yet more European flair to its tree-lined streets as it welcomes an espresso franchise direct from the continent.

A 2,500 square-foot espresso bar, a European franchise, will be moving to 504 Sixth Avenue, at 13th Street, according to a spokesperson for New York Commercial Real Estate Services, which represented both the landlord and the tenant in the 10-year lease deal. The asking rent was $34,500 per month. [more]

229 West 43rd Street

Restaurant company Heartland Group  is expanding its presence in the Times Square neighborhood, after signing a nearly 16,000-square-foot lease at the former New York Times Building at 229 West 43rd Street, city property records show.

The Midtown-based company, which operates two large restaurants under the Heartland Brewery and HB Burger names only a block away, signed the new lease Dec. 1 with Africa Israel USA, which owns the retail condominium at the Times Square Building, the records say. [more]

A new, larger, renovated Brooklyn Museum Shop will open April 4, in a space previously devoted to temporary exhibitions, Patch.com reported.

The new 4,150-square-foot shop is 1,600 square feet larger than the old one in the same space, and is part of an ongoing renovation of the first floor of the museum at 200 Eastern Pkwy, in Brooklyn. [more]

H&H Bagels' Upper West Side store before it closed

Although New York City classic H&H Bagels has struggled through bankruptcy and the loss of both an Upper West Side store at 79th and Broadway and their manufacturing plant, owner Helmer Toro told the Wall Street Journal he is confident his business will survive.

The space where the only remaining H&H does business, at 639 West 46th Street, was sold at auction for $11 million last week. Toro had owned the space in a partnership. A bankruptcy trustee has moved to evict H&H, and Toro then filed an order to show cause, effectively stalling the eviction. In a bankruptcy filing Toro has said he was “a victim of predatory lending and a disbarred attorney,” according to the Journal. [more]

The Boerum Hill warehouse leased by Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Restaurant, blues venue, and biker bar chain Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has inked a 15-year lease for its first Brooklyn location at 604 Union Street in Boerum Hill, Crain’s reported, and should open its doors by the end of the year.

The Syracuse-based eatery chose to convert a 9,000-square-foot warehouse, between Third and Fourth avenues, for its first location in the borough, in order to capitalize on the high level of foot traffic in the neighborhood. Asking rents for the space were just $27 a square foot, Crain’s said. [more]

Fast-casual eatery Potbelly Sandwich Shop has signed a 10-year lease at 366 Fifth Avenue in the Fashion District, according to a statement The Real Deal  received today from the landlord, Joseph P. Day Realty. The 2,100 square-foot space, at 35th Street, will open some time in the spring of 2012, the statement said.

The address is also known as the New York Accessories Exchange building and is currently home to a number of fashion clients. Potbelly will take a portion of the ground floor.

Potbelly’s other Manhattan locations include three in Midtown, one in the Financial District and an outpost on 17th and Broadway, according to their website. The sandwich purveyor first moved into Manhattan in March of this year .  [more]

Filene’s Basement at 4 Union Square South Since announcing bankruptcy and the closure of all its stores last month, bargain clothing retailer Filene’s Basement has been having liquidation sales set to run through next month. Racked learned, however, that this Thursday the Union Square store, at 4 Union Square South, will be closing for good. 
ABC News reported in early November that in total, 25 Syms locations and 21 Filene’s Basement stores are set to shutter, with closings occurring next month, after the liquidation. [more]

From left: the Astor Place and Penn Station Kmarts Poor holiday sales has compelled Sears Holdings to shutter between 100 and 120 of its 4,000 Sears and Kmart stores across North America, the Associated Press reported. Stores open at least a year generated 5.2 percent less revenue this quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season, than they did a year ago.

While the struggling economy and pressure from competition, from the likes of Macy’s, Target and Walmart, have hurt the retailer, analysts said Sears’ unwillingness to renovate its stores delivered a punishing blow. [more]

A pop-up in Tribeca that pairs lingerie designer the Lake & Stars with architecture firm SOFTLab, and a PayPal pop-up shop at 174 Hudson Street

From the December issue: Temporary retail stores, known as “pop-ups,” have been quite literally popping up in New York City for several years now, often hawking seasonal items at Halloween and Christmas. But a new breed of pop-ups is emerging, industry insiders say: Non-retail ventures, from PayPal to the TV show “Celebrity Apprentice,” are opening temporary locations on New York’s heavily trafficked streets.

“We are seeing some unusual ones, in addition to [temporary] fashion shops,” said Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group.

Unlike most pop-up stores, which primarily aim to sell merchandise, these non-retail pop-ups are more focused on publicity and marketing. [more]