Popular Pizzeria Roberta’s Opening 5K-SF Outpost at Vornado’s Penn 1
By Mark Hallum November 7, 2022 3:04 pm
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Roberta’s, the popular chain of pizzerias that started in Bushwick, Brooklyn, is planning a huge new outpost by Madison Square Garden.
The pizzeria — which has 10 locations around the world — just signed a 5,200-square-foot lease with Vornado Realty Trust for its next location at Penn 1 near the corner of Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street, the New York Post first reported.
The building, also known as 1 Penn East, will provide the eatery with a roof deck and outdoor patio seating at street level when it opens in the fall of 2023.
Vornado declined to comment or provide the terms of the deal.
“I think it says a lot about them going from their first location in Bushwick to now being set up right across the street from Madison Square Garden, so they are very much an iconic New York brand,” Lee & Associates NYC’s Jeffrey Lopez, who represented Roberta’s, told Commercial Observer.
Despite Vornado warning of tough times ahead in an quarterly investors meeting last week, fashion and restaurant operators are interested in setting up shop in the landlord’s properties surrounding Pennsylvania Station and the Garden, according to Lopez.
“As we look for new locations, we tend to gravitate towards interesting neighborhoods with a rich history and an abundance of creativity, similarly to the opening of our original Roberta’s within Bushwick,” Roberta’s co-owner Brandon Hoy said in a statement. “Penn 1 is within a mecca of entertainment, and we’re excited to see what the opening of the development brings for Midtown.”
The wood-fired pizzeria was founded in Bushwick by Hoy, Carlo Mirarchi and Chris Parachini and expanded to outposts in food halls across the city as well as full-service spots in Williamsburg and Los Angeles. It inked a deal in 2019 to open a wine bar and restaurant at 15 Avenue A, although that venue hasn’t opened yet.
Roberta’s plans to debut its Penn 1 outpost in the fall of 2023.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
