UPDATED, April 16, 2021, 2:55 p.m.: An iconic — if not well-loved — Fifth Avenue building has changed hands.
The Childs Building at 604 Fifth Avenue sold to the Japanese snack chain Minamoto Kitchoan for just under $45 million, according to a deed filed with the city on Friday. The six-story building was previously home to an 18,000-square-foot TGI Fridays. Now, Minamoto Kitchoan will use the space for a new flagship.
“With the retail and sales landscape evolving, I am seeing a surge in owner users stepping up to purchase real estate for their own businesses,” Compass’ Adelaide Polsinelli, who brokered the deal, said in a statement.
The Riese Organization, which owns and operates restaurant chains, sold the building, with its chairman and CEO, Dennis Riese, signing the deed. A representative for Riese did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Minamoto Kitchoan describes itself as a “fruits confectionery that emphasize[s] the appearance, shape and taste of the fruit itself.” The store has seven locations in the U.S., including an outpost on Madison Avenue that’s just a few blocks from the Childs Building. The retailer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Fifth Avenue building has a storied past: It was created for the Childs restaurant chain in 1924 and designed by architect William Van Alen, the architect of the nearby Chrysler Building. The New York Times said that the building would be “one of the finest buildings along Fifth Avenue,” but it has been overlooked by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has not designated it a landmark.
Fifth Avenue retail has been wounded by deflated tourist numbers. In February, a survey of the corridor by The Real Deal found that there were 32 vacant storefronts on the stretch between 42nd and 59th streets.
UPDATE: This story has been updated with more details about the deal.