The taste of nostalgia turned out to be too sweet for the owner of Junior’s Restaurant.
The purveyor of cheesecake has taken its Downtown Brooklyn shop off the market, despite the building fetching bids as high as $45 million, the New York Times reported. At $450 per buildable square feet, the purchase would have set a record in the borough, according to the newspaper.
The deal soured after owner Alan Rosen learned the buyer behind the top bid would not accommodate Junior’s on the ground floor of a new development. Other potential buyers would do so, but Rosen told the Times the building at 386 Flatbush Avenue was too tied up with Junior’s legacy to let it go.
Rosen tapped Massey Knakal Realty Services to market the building in February. Two months later, rumors circulated that an air-rights deal could pave the way for a 50-story tower on the site. [NYT] – Tom DiChristopher