Paramount’s 1633 Broadway set for famed Taiwanese chain’s first East Coast outpost

Din Tai Fung leasing 26K sf of retail space in Midtown tower

From left: Aaron Yang, vice president, Din Tai Fung; Albert Yang, vice president, Din Tai Fung (Din Tai Fung, LoopNet, iStock/Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal)
From left: Aaron Yang, vice president, Din Tai Fung; Albert Yang, vice president, Din Tai Fung (Din Tai Fung, LoopNet, iStock/Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal)

A famed Taiwanese restaurant chain picked up space in Midtown for its first East Coast outpost.

The Paramount Group announced a 15-year-lease at 1633 Broadway for Din Tai Fung, which has earned a Michelin Star rating and international reputation for xiao long bao, Chinese steamed soup dumplings. Rents for the 26,400-square-foot space were not revealed.

Din Tai Fung will operate out of the retail space known for its glass entry cube. The restaurant space is being designed by David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group and is expected to open in 2023.

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Peter Brindley, an executive vice president with Paramount, said the owner is “thrilled” the chain is landing at the location as its first in New York.

Din Tai Fung started as a cooking oil business founded by a Chinese refugee in 1958 before transitioning to a steamed dumpling and noodle restaurant in 1972. The New York Times in 1993 hailed the restaurant as one of the 10 best gourmet spots in the world. In 2010, the Hong Kong location was awarded a Michelin Star, the first time a Taiwanese restaurant ever earned the distinction.

The 48-story, 2.5-million-square-foot tower at 1633 Broadway is one of the largest in Paramount’s portfolio. In April 2020, the company announced the sale of a 10 percent stake in the building to an institutional investor, netting proceeds of approximately $114 million in a transaction valuing the building at $2.4 billion.

In 2019, Paramount secured a $1.25 billion refinancing for the property with the third-largest real estate loan in the city that year, scoring $179 million in net proceeds. Major tenants at the building include Allianz, Morgan Stanley and Showtime.