Upstart restaurateurs turn to landlords for help

From the November issue: Opening a restaurant in New York City is not an easy task. NYC & Company, the city’s official marketing and tourism board, reports that there are 18,696 restaurants in the five boroughs. And there are always more optimists: Each and every year, at least 200 new restaurants launch in the Big Apple. Yet the odds of success are low. “Few will survive their first year of operation, and less than 10 percent will be in business in five years,” said industry legend Alan Stillman, founder of T.G.I. Friday’s and Smith & Wollensky.

Even though it’s a food business, real estate is a main ingredient for those who endure.

After all, great chef or not, restaurateurs know a simple real estate truism. “The key to the success of your restaurant is your location,” said Phil Scotti, CEO of Clarke’s Group, owner and operator of P.J. Clarke’s. [more]

From left: David Yurman at 712 Madison Avenue and Tah-Poozie at 50 Greenwich Avenue

On the Upper East Side, a new Italian eatery is opening at 768 Madison Avenue on the corner of 66th Street. Luna Espresso is opening its doors at 1593 First Avenue on the corner of 83rd Street. David Yurman has opened a new location at 712 Madison Avenue on the corner of 63rd Street. A meatball street cart has opened on 58th Street between Second and Third avenues.
A Heartland Brewery has opened in the Port Authority, according to Midtown Lunch. Pizza by Cer Te has opened at 132 East 56th Street between Park and Lexington avenues. A new coffee shop called B Koffie has opened at 370 West 51st Street on the corner of Ninth Avenue. Argo Tea will
be bringing teas to 1792 Broadway near 58th Street. There were
grumblings about a Grom gelato shop opening near Columbus Circle.
Signage in the window two doors north of the Argo Tea spot indicate
that Grom will be opening there soon. [more]

From left: the Sunglass Hut on the corner of 49th Street and Fifth Avenue, and Graceland at the corner of Avenue A and 2nd Street

An eatery specializing in lobster rolls is opening in mid-May at 242 East 81st Street near the corner of Second Avenue. On the Upper West Side, the Westside Independent brings word of several new openings, including a children’s store called Giggle at 350 Amsterdam Avenue between 76th and 77th streets; a Mexican restaurant and bar called Jalapeno at 77 West 68th Street on the corner of Columbus Avenue; a new Time Warner Cable store on the corner of 96th and Broadway; a new street-level studio for public television company WNET on the corner of 66th Street and Broadway; and a Mexican eatery called Cafe Frida at 768 Amsterdam Avenue on the corner of 98th Street. An eatery specializing in homestyle Chinese food called Walle is opening at 251 East 53rd Street near the corner of Second Avenue. A Sunglass Hut location is opening on the corner of 49th Street and Fifth Avenue. Bill’s Bar & Burger is expanding beyond its Meatpacking District environs and opening a Midtown location at 16 West 51st Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues this summer. An on-the-go food shop called Market has opened in the Grand Hyatt hotel at 109 East 42nd Street between Park and Lexington avenues. A Lego store is opening in Rockefeller Center in a former Brookstone location at 620 Fifth Avenue near the corner of 50th Street. Grimaldi’s pizzeria is opening in the Limelight Marketplace in Chelsea at 47 West 20th Street near Sixth Avenue in early May. [more]

From left: Le Pain Quotidien at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 88th Street and the Blue Seats at 157 Ludlow Street

In Harlem, Chocolat Restaurant Lounge is opening soon at 2217 Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Le Pain Quotidien is coming to the Upper East Side, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 88th Street, Life with Food and Drink reported. Hotel AKA Central Park has added a café, lounge and fitness center to its facilities at 42 West 58th Street, according to a press release (note: correction appended). Macaron Café is planning a new location on 59th Street between Madison and Park avenues that’s set to open in July, and the new Hilton Manhattan East has opened at the former Tudor Hotel at 304 East 42nd Street. Women’s shoe store Naturalizer has secured a lease at 1460 Broadway, between 41st and 42nd streets, for its second Manhattan location. A new restaurant called West Side Steakhouse appears to be taking the place of Gourmet Wok on 10th Avenue between 43rd and 44th streets. [more]

From left: Fultummy’s at 221 Columbia Street and Atomic Passion at 430 East 9th Street

In Harlem, a new eatery Chocolat has opened at 2217 Eighth Avenue near the corner of 120th Street. Doug E.’s Fresh Chicken and Waffles, meanwhile, plans to open by summer at 2245 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard on the corner of 132nd Street.
Macaron Cafe is opening a new location on 59th Street between Madison and Park avenues. The Tri Tip Grill is opening in Midtown at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. In the East Village, the Lounge at Dixon Place has opened at 161A Chrystie Street between Rivington and Delancey streets. Pa-Plern Thai eatery is opening at 6 Clinton Avenue near the corner of East Houston Street. South Brooklyn Pizza is opening up in the East Village as well, at 122 First Avenue between 7th Street and St. Marks Place. In the West Village, after shuttering last year due to a kitchen fire, Annisa is reopening at 13 Barrow Street near the corner of West 4th Street. French designer Isabel Marant has opened a Soho boutique at 55 Greene Street on the corner of Broome Street. [more]

From left: JC Hibachi at 198A Orchard Street and Senor Swanky’s at 513 Columbus Avenue

The Upper East Side will see a new Sur La Table location move in at 1320 Third Avenue on the corner of 76th Street. This will be the second New York City location. The Grand Hyatt hotel in Midtown has opened Market, a small food stand that utilizes locally-grown ingredients, in its lobby at 109 East 42nd Street between Park and Lexington avenues. A new food court is reportedly moving in on 32nd Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue. The STK restaurant line has signed a 20-year lease for space in the Grace Building at 1114 Sixth Avenue on the corner of 43rd Street, according to a press release.
Grand Central Terminal will welcome an eco-friendly beauty and fashion boutique pop-up shop, EcoLux, on April 19, just in time for Earth Day, on April 22. The shop will remain open till April 24. Queens-based burger shop Bare is opening its first Manhattan location at 535 La Guardia Place between Bleecker and West 3rd streets. [more]

From left: Crumbs at 109 Montague Street and Neo Sushi at 2298 Broadway

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, a Seattle mainstay, is opening a cheese factory at 900 Broadway on the corner of 20th Street in the Flatiron District. A used bookstore is opening in the East Village on Avenue A between 4th and 5th streets, according to the EV Grieve blog. Popular wine bar Terroir is planning to open a new location, called Terroir Tribeca, at 24 Harrison Avenue between Greenwich and Hudson streets. Kastel cocktail lounge is opening in the Trump Soho condo-hotel April 9 at 246 Spring Street near Varick Street. [more]

From left: Ma Peche at 15 West 56th Street in Manhattan; Great Wall Chinese Restaurant at 60 Henry Street in Brooklyn

On the Upper West Side, the Sunburnt Calf began serving Austrialian-inspired cuisine yesterday at 226 West 79th Street, and the Corner, a new restaurant by owner Marc Roth and chef Ryan Smith has opened in the old Roth’s location at 680 Columbus Avenue. In Midtown, Ma Peche is officially opening next week in the Chambers Hotel at 15 West 56th Street, but only for lunch. Upstairs at the Kimberly Hotel, the rooftop bar at 145 East 50th Street, is opening in late April or early May, representatives for the spot told Hotel Chatter. A tipster told Curbed that a new Times Square restaurant, Smokehouse BBQ, is coming to 249 West 49th Street. Retailer Manhattan Jewelers is coming to 1363 Sixth Avenue, according to a release. Zengo, serving dim sum, tacos, empanadas and arepas, is opening April 6 at 622 Third Avenue, near 41st Street. French restaurant Nooi is opening its first U.S. location at 370 Lexington Avenue,and New York Burger has inked a 15-year lease for its third store at 470 West 23rd Street, according to press releases. Meatpacking District restaurant the John Dory will be reopening in the Ace Hotel at 20 West 29th Street, possibly under a different name. [more]

From left: the Psychic Boutique at 497 Myrtle Avenue and Ellen at 122 Ludlow Street

A new taco truck called El Camioncito has opened near Penn Station at the corner of 31st Street and Seventh Avenue. Nearby, the Empire Room, a ground-floor bar in the Empire State Building at 350 Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th streets, has opened. A new Irish gastro-pub has had its soft opening at 247 West 30th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, with an official opening date planned for April. ?Farther west, the Ink48 hotel at 653 11th Avenue on the corner of 48th Street has opened its new rooftop lounge. In the East Village, two recently-vacated neighboring spaces at 105 Avenue A and 103 Avenue A between 6th and 7th streets are reportedly reopening as one, larger eatery. A new Peruvian restaurant called Bar Paya is opening in the neighborhood as well, on Second Avenue near 4th Street. [more]

From left: Parilla Steakhouse at 3379 Broadway and Eighty One at 45 West 81st Street

In Hamilton Heights, Harlem + Bespoke brings word that Parilla Steakhouse is opening at 3379 Broadway at the corner of 137th Street. Staten Island mainstay Talay Thai is planning to open an Upper East Side location on the corner of 95th Street and First Avenue. On the Upper West Side, the Westside Independent reported a few openings. Canteen 82, a new restaurant, is opening on Columbus Avenue between 82nd and 83rd streets, and up the avenue, Scratch restaurant, is opening at 680 Columbus Avenue on the corner of 93rd Street. Scottrade is opening a new location in 1,400 square feet at the corner of 88th Street and Broadway. Despite the recent spate of retailers abandoning the Plaza Retail Collection stores at the hotel at One Central Park South, which The Real Deal reported yesterday, high-end clothier Ungaro officially announced that it will open a boutique there. [more]