Leases  ·  Retail

Think Coffee Likely to Replace Starbucks at 471 Broadway in Soho

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Starbucks Coffee’s lease at 471 Broadway in Soho expires on Oct. 10, and the coffee giant has elected not to renew, the retail condominium unit’s owner told Commercial Observer.

Mordy Lipkis, the condo owner, said that he is “replacing [Starbucks] with Think Coffee,” which he believes “will do better than Starbucks did because it’ll be a larger location and be able to accommodate more people.” (The lease with Think Coffee hasn’t yet closed, Lipkis said.)

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Starbucks has occupied 1,900 square feet at 471 Broadway, which is between Grand and Broome Streets, for the last 15 years. With the global chain out, Lipkis can tack back on the 600 square feet he combined with his Mercer Street space since Starbucks didn’t want such a large space, giving Think Coffee 2,500 square feet.

“I think it’s a good location for a coffee shop,” Lipkis said. “It gets a lot of foot traffic. There isn’t another coffee shop [in the immediate area] on Broadway.”

One retail broker said the coffee shop replacement could be a good thing.

“I honestly think no one will miss [Starbucks]; they’re a few blocks north and a few blocks south, both on Broadway,” said Eastern Consolidated’s James Famularo. “People prefer the boutique brands nowadays anyway. Have you seen Think Coffee’s newest location on Broadway and Leonard? It’s very nice. [Think Coffee is] definitely elevating the design lately.”

That location at Broadway and Leonard is Think Coffee’s newest shop at 350 Broadway in Tribeca, another of Lipkis’ spaces.

A representative for Starbucks didn’t respond to a request for comment and nor did Starbucks’ Manhattan broker, David Firestein of SCG Retail. No one was immediately reachable at Think Coffee.