Mediterranean Eatery Blue Mezze Opening Second NYC Location in Life Hotel
By Mark Hallum March 8, 2024 12:07 pm
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Mediterranean restaurant and bar Blue Mezze is establishing a second Manhattan location.
The eatery and cocktail lounge signed a 15-year, 2,944-square-foot lease at the base of The Life Hotel at 19 West 31st Street, where asking rent was $150 per square foot, according to a spokesperson for landlord Capstone Equities" class="company-link">Capstone Equities.
Currently located in the Upper East Side at 1480 Second Avenue, Blue Mezze’s new location will introduce Blue Mezze to customers in Midtown north of Madison Square Park. The new restaurant site is not far from the Empire State Building.
“There is a lot of value in having both a full dining experience on the ground floor as well as small plates and craft cocktails option below in the speakeasy,” Danny Volk of Vantage Real Estate Advisors, who negotiated on behalf of the landlord, said in a statement. “Many people in NoMad are looking for a spot to grab drinks and a bite after work or during travel, and this is a way to do that in a high-quality atmosphere.”
Shai and Tamir Baradarian of eRealty Advisors USA represented the tenant in the transaction and declined to comment.
Built in 1895, the 10-story hotel was the first home of Life Magazine until 1936, according to the landlord.
The building was known as the Herald Square Hotel and was family-owned and operated starting in 1965, until it was purchased by David Mitchell’s Mitchell Holdings for $38.5 million in June 2015. Capstone Equities acquired the building for $47 million in May 2023 from Deutsche Bank, which itself took control of the building in a foreclosure.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
