‘Ultra-High-End’ Convenience Store and Café Opening in 50 West
By Liam La Guerre April 23, 2018 1:45 pm
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Entrepreneur Michael Ali has signed a deal to bring what Time Equities calls an “ultra-high-end” convenience store and café at the base of its 50 West Street residential skyscraper in Lower Manhattan, Commercial Observer has learned.
Ali inked a 10-year lease for a 1,262-square-foot part of the ground floor of the Helmut Jahn-designed 64-story rental and condominium for his store, Café @ 50 West.
The asking rent in the deal was $136 per square foot, according to information from the landlord. The building, where some penthouses have sold for north of $20 million, is located between Rector and Joseph P. Ward Streets.
Café @ 50 West will offer a variety of high-end grab-and-go items, and will be adjacent to the 6,800-square-foot public plaza of the building.
“The retail space facing the plaza was tailor-made for a concept like Café @ 50 West, because it blends well with our vision for creating a true community gathering place for residents and pedestrians alike,” Francis Greenburger, the CEO and founder of Time Equities, said in prepared remarks. “For residents of 50 West, the café offers yet another convenient amenity located a short elevator ride down from their respective homes.”
Ami Ziff and Evan Kupferberg of Time Equities handled the deal for the landlord in-house. Ziff and Kupferberg negotiated directly with the tenant. Ali declined to comment.
Time Equities is still searching for a restaurant tenant for its 10,560-square-foot duplex on the first and second floors. It has 20-foot ceiling heights. Greenburger once told CO that he would have liked to have Gotham Bar and Grill in the space, but the owners of the restaurant weren’t interested.
Time Equities secured a $30 million condominium inventory loan from MidFirst Bank backed by four penthouse units at 50 West Street earlier this month, CO previously reported.
