New Italian Restaurant Takes 7K SF at 123 West 49th Street

Ginger Sapori e Salute, which is part of a series of Italian restaurant concepts from restaurateur Dario Asara, has inked a 20-year, 7,000-square-foot lease at 123 West 49th Street, which has an alternative address of 1251 Sixth Avenue — effectively two entrances to the same property — in Midtown Manhattan. 

The asking rent was about $150 per square foot, according to the New York Business Journal, which first reported the lease. The restaurant sits in the former home of Japanese eatery Sushi Den and is set to open Oct. 1. 

Kenneth Hochhauser and Jeff Winick, from RTL (formerly known as Winick Realty Group), represented the landlord, Mitsui Fudosan America. The tenant was represented by Allan Gallaway from Sotheby’s International Realty. Gallaway did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“When the opportunity was presented to us, we immediately recognized that Ginger Sapore e Salute would match perfectly with Mitsui Fudosan America’s vision for the property and the needs of the marketplace,” Hochhauser told Commercial Observer via email. “Ginger is the kind of restaurant that slots perfectly into the mix, bringing a new culinary voice and fresh energy to the Midtown dining scene.”

Asara has three Ginger locations in Rome, including one in the square adjacent to the Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple dating back to the second century. This will be the first Ginger restaurant to open in New York City.  

Formerly known as the Exxon Building, 1251 Sixth Avenue is a 54-story, Class A office tower with corporate tenants including financial planner Daiwa Capital Markets, investment bank Solomon Partners and law firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann. 

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.