The relationship between Dylan’s Candy Bar and its New York landlord appears to have gone from sweet to sour.
Olmstead Properties, the owner of the retailer’s corporate office at 315 East 62nd Street, sued the candy company this week over claims it owes almost $200,000 in unpaid rent.
According to the complaint, Dylan’s entered into a seven-year lease at the building in 2002, and extended that agreement three times between 2008 and 2017.
But last September, the company packed up and vacated the space, and has not paid rent since, Olmstead claims. The landlord is asking a court to demand Dylan’s pay the outstanding amount in full, as well as other costs.
A representative for Dylan’s did not respond to a request for comment.
Founded in 2001, Dylan’s Candy Bar is the brainchild of Dylan Lauren, daughter of fashion designer Ralph Lauren, who was in her late twenties when she co-founded the concept.
Known for its brightly colored stores and novel offerings (including giant lollipops and kosher gummy kebabs), the company has locations in New York, Easthampton, Los Angeles, Miami Beach and Chicago.
Lauren told the New York Times she was inspired to start the business by watching her father design clothes. “I loved the colors,” she said. “I wanted to eat the color swatches.”
The company’s dispute over rent is far from unusual in the current climate. Since the pandemic hit, retailers across the city have struggled to pay rent, prompting scores of lawsuits.