Chinese Chain Grandma’s Home Signs 6K-SF Lease for Flatiron Eatery
By Mark Hallum February 3, 2023 12:36 pm
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Nothing beats grandma’s cooking.
Grandma’s Home, a Chinese restaurant serving regional dishes, signed a 6,000-square-foot lease at the Kaufman Organization’s 56 West 22nd Street, Commercial Observer has learned.
With an asking rent of about $140 per square foot and a 12-year lease, the new Flatiron District location of Grandma’s Home will be among the chain’s many other international locations, according to the Kaufman Organization.
Kaufman isn’t just renting the space to anyone, either.
“We went through a lot of tenants to find [Grandma’s Home]; they evaluate tenants based on likelihood of them staying there and being successful, what was their history, do they have a lot of experience doing this,” James Famularo of Meridian Retail Leasing, who brokered the deal on behalf of the landlord alongside Evan Roteman, told CO. “I think there’s always a shortage of good tenants but there’s definitely a strong demand [for retail space].
Michael Azarian of Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) represented the tenant, but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I always laugh when people say that retail’s dead. Where are you going to get a haircut from, an app?” Famularo added. “Where are you going to drop your dry cleaning off? Where are you going to get a drink with your buddy? So there’s no such thing as ‘retail is dead.’ ”
The 12-story building was constructed in 1907. Tenants include Sharma Brands, which inked a 5,508-square-foot lease on the entire 11th floor in November 2022, and real estate developer Hope Street Capital, which snagged a lease for 5,508 square feet in October 2021, Commercial Observer reported at the time.
Kaufman, along with its partner AXA Investment Managers, closed on a deal to buy the landmarked building for $48.5 million from Fifty Six Realty in March 2020, and renovated it in 2022.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
