Chinese Restaurant Zhoumapo Takes 6K SF at 298 Fifth Avenue

Chinese fast-food chain Zhoumapo will open its second U.S. location in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood, Commercial Observer has learned.

Zhoumapo, which has more than 200 restaurants across Asia, has signed a 10-year lease for 5,500 square feet on the ground floor and lower level of HRC’s 298 Fifth Avenue, according to broker Meridian Retail Leasing. Asking rent was $72 per square foot.

The chain’s new spot on the corner of West 31st Street and Fifth Avenue will open during the first quarter of 2026, Meridian said. The site is five blocks north of Madison Square Park and two blocks south of the Empire State Building.

“This corner offers incredible exposure in one of Manhattan’s most active neighborhoods,” Meridian’s Noam Aziz, who brokered the deal for the landlord, said in a statement. “NoMad has evolved into a major dining and lifestyle destination with nonstop foot traffic, strong daytime and evening populations, and growing demand from global food concepts.”

Meridian’s John Roesch and Mariko Tanaka represented the tenant in the deal.

A spokesperson for HRC did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a spokesperson for Zhoumapo could not be reached for comment.

The deal represents Zhoumapo’s second location in the U.S. and its second in New York City, after signing a lease for 5,800 square feet at Cine Roma Properties’ 728 Eighth Avenue in Times Square in January, as CO previously reported.

The fast-food chain, which offers what Meridian calls a “spicy, flavorful menu,” will be surrounded by many other retail tenants in its new NoMad spot, including Italian marketplace Eataly at 200 Fifth Avenue and Korean restaurant Her Name is Han at 17 East 31st Street.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.