Japanese Shop I’m Donut? Opening First U.S. Location in Times Square
By Nicholas Rizzi May 3, 2024 1:27 pm
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A popular Japanese doughnut shop with an existential name will open its first overseas outpost in Times Square.
I’m Donut? signed a lease for 5,725 square feet at Bow Tie Properties’ 154 West 45th Street, according to a spokesperson for law firm Lester Shaw & Levy, which worked on the deal.
Spokespeople for Lester Bleckner & Shaw and I’m Donut? declined to provide terms of the deal, but average asking retail rents in Times Square were $1,073 per square foot in the first quarter of 2024, according to a CBRE report.
I’m Donut? plans to open the outpost later this year in 2,390 square feet on the ground floor of 154 West 45th and 3,335 square feet in the basement. The deal was first reported by Eater New York.
“New York is a city where people from all over the world come together. It is also a gourmet city with a discerning palate,” Ryouta Hirako, founder of I’m Donut?, said in a statement. “I thought the best way to get people from all over the world to taste my doughnuts would be to open a store here.”
Hirako started the doughnut business in 2022 out of a shop in Tokyo and has quickly grown it since. It has five locations in Japan and is known for its variety of flavors — with some outposts offering more than 80 doughnuts to sample — and long lines.
While the Times Square outpost doesn’t have a menu yet, with I’m Donut? saying it will decide flavors based on “provenance and availability,” other locations boast honey and orange doughnuts, a French cruller, red bean cream and “I’m burger?,” a burger sandwiched inside a doughnut.
It’s unclear who brokered the deal, but Colliers (CIGI)’ David Green has been previously listed as Bow Tie’s broker for the building. Green and representatives for Colliers and Bow Tie did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nicholas Rizzi can be reached at nrizzi@commercialobserver.com.
