Wolfgang’s Cuts Stake in Lipstick Building; Capitalizes on Vong’s Move Downtown
By Tom Acitelli November 17, 2009 1:35 pm
reprints
Five years ago, Wolfgang Zwiener, longtime headwaiter at Williamsburg’s famed Peter Luger, transformed himself from apprentice to master with the opening of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, a rival ode to bow-tied elegance and Porterhouse heft on the Manhattan side of the East River. Now opening its third New York location, Wolfgang’s is making its mark on Third Avenue’s elliptical Lipstick Building, whose past tenants include Bernie Madoff.
The restaurant’s 5,000-square-foot space was formerly occupied by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Vong, which is leaving its lease a year early to move downtown. In order to extract themselves from the lease gracefully, Vong’s owners coaxed Wolfgang and building owner Metropolitan Real Estate Investors into a room together and a deal emerged.
Wolfgang will pay $23,000 a month in rent, according to the New York Post, a figure that will rise over time.
Metropolitan’s Haim Revah commented, “Wolfgang’s Steakhouse is a destination restaurant and a significant amenity for tenants of the Lipstick Building.
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