Momoya Owner Bringing Happy Tuna to Midtown East’s Chanin Building
By Mark Hallum October 4, 2023 12:53 pm
reprints
Momoya‘s ownership is continuing to expand its slew of Manhattan restaurants by bringing a new concept to Midtown East, Commercial Observer has learned.
KwangHo Lee, the patriach behind the Momoya chain of restaurants, is opening an establishment dubbed Happy Tuna, according to the broker for the landlord. The Japanese eatery signed a 2,500-square-foot for nearly 10 years with Stahl Organization at 122 East 42nd Street.
Asking rent was $150 per square foot in the building at East 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, also known as the Chanin Building.
“Restaurants signing leases in Midtown again is a great sign of the continued confidence that the workers are back in their offices,” Newmark (NMRK)’s Jeffrey Roseman, who represented Stahl alongside Drew Weiss, said in a statement. “[The restaurant] coming to the Chanin Building sends a great message to other restaurateurs who are thinking about doing the same thing.”
Christopher Owles and Eric Friedlander of Sinvin represented the tenant in the transaction and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lee and his family founded the popular Japanese and sushi chain Momoya at 185 Seventh Avenue in Chelsea in 2005 and later expanded to locations in SoHo and the Upper West Side.
The Chanin Building is a 56-story office tower completed in 1929 that has recently attracted tenants including Forest Hills Financial Group, which signed a 7,175-square-foot deal in July, and flexible office company NYC Office Suites, which took 31,433 square feet in June 2022, CO previously reported.
Update: This story has been updated to correct that Happy Tuna, not Momoya, signed a lease for the space.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
