Starbucks nears deal for new roastery in Meatpacking District

Restaurant, café would occupy full 25K sf of retail at 860 Washington

From left: Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle, and a rendering of 860 Washington Street in the Meatpacking District (credit: James Carpenter)
From left: Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle, and a rendering of 860 Washington Street in the Meatpacking District (credit: James Carpenter)

Starbucks is in late-stage talks to ink a deal for a restaurant, café and lounge at 860 Washington Street, a mixed-use building being developed by Romanoff Equities and Property Group Partners’ in the Meatpacking District.

The roughly 25,000-square-foot space would take up the entire retail component of the 10-story, 114,000-square-foot property. It includes 10,900 square feet on the ground floor, 9,400 square feet on the second floor and 5,115 square feet on the lower level. The space offers 25-foot-high ceilings and 240 feet of frontage.

Asking rent is $300 per square foot on the ground floor, and $600 on the second floor, sources told The Real Deal.

At the moment, the only Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room location is in Seattle, where the coffee giant is headquartered.

The lease in New York is expected to be official later this month, sources said. The upcoming location would be one of the largest Starbucks outposts in the world.

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Firestein Tannor

From left: David Firestein and Gregory Tannor

David Firestein of the Shopping Center Group represented Starbucks, while Cushman & Wakefield’s Gregory Tannor, Stuart Romanoff, Joanne Podell and Brandon Singer represented the landlord. Firestein brought the city’s first Starbucks to the Upper West Side more than 20 years ago. The brokers could not be reached for comment.

Tesla Motors was in talks to open a showroom on the ground floor, but those negotiations broke down, sources said. Health-centric developer Delos Living signed on as the building’s first office tenant in October.

Starbucks has 220 Manhattan locations, more than any other national retailer, according to an annual retail report from the Center for an Urban Future.

The chain has been planning to open a second Roastery outpost sometime this year. The Roastery in Seattle serves as a site for roasting the chain’s upscale Reserve coffee lines, which are now sold exclusively at Starbucks locations worldwide. One of the stores that sells Reserve coffees is located nearby, at 525 West 26th Street in Chelsea.