Emily Green.
Emily Green, 25
Associate at Brand Urban
Emily Green knows that one of the best ways to explore New York City is through food. She’s been able to make that passion a career, helping multiple eateries find space in the city, even during a pandemic that has decimated the restaurant industry.
Despite the coronavirus — which forced restaurants and retailers alike to rethink their business models or even close completely — Green said she was lucky to have clients who believed in New York. Mexican restaurant Rosa Mexicano’s was among them, and Green helped relocate the eatery to nearby 985 Second Avenue on the corner of 52nd Street and Second Avenue from its original Midtown East home.
“COVID has [caused] such a funky year to be in real estate,” Green said. “But I’ve been lucky enough to have clients who saw New York’s resiliency and were opportunistic.”
Green also helped home goods retailer Parachute Home find a new 25,000-square-foot space on its same street at 113 North Sixth Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. One of the clients Green has worked with the longest, the cafe chain Maman NYC, has almost doubled its number of outposts, continuing to grow during the pandemic. She said it was rewarding to help them expand during a particularly challenging time for restaurants.
Green prefers to work with restaurant and retail tenants because of how closely she is able to connect with their stories and identities as companies. She likes connecting with New York City as well — be it through taking walks in Central Park, catching a Broadway show like “Wicked” (one of Green’s favorites), or exploring the city’s many culinary options.
“Every client that we have, we feel incredibly passionate about their brand, because we just shop there ourselves or dine there ourselves,” Green said. “To be working with brands where I am that true consumer is, I think, my favorite part.”—C.Y.
