IT WORKS: Columbus Avenue’s rich mix of retail like Angelo’s Shoe Repair and Olde Good Things antiques (inset) argue for a hands-off approach to city zoning. (
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And then there were none. These new leases were among those which gobbled up the last few Columbus Avenue storefronts between West 67th and 82nd Streets:
1. New (not yet named) Italian eatery at the former Calle Ocho site, 446 Columbus Ave., by two “aristocratic Mexicans” who own restaurants in Mexico City, according to landlord broker Rafe Evans. He said the asking rent for the 7,000 square-foot ground-floor space was a mere $77 a square foot — so low because the space “had an unusual configuration and needed a lot of work.”
2. 240 Columbus (71st St.) — Cafe Tallulah, now under construction. Evans, who repped the tenant, said the restaurateur, Amsterdam Billiards owner Greg Hunt, is paying even less than the $35,000 asking rent — “in the mid-$100s per square foot” because the long-vacant space was so decayed. He said otherwise, it might have gone for $325 a foot.
3. The Paper Source, 309 Columbus, former site of Therapie. Lansco’s Robin Abrams and Lisa Rosenthal repped the landlord and previous tenant Therapie in negotiating a direct lease with the new tenant, which is taking 5,900 square feet on three levels. (McDevitt Co.’s Steven Plourde repped Paper Source.)
Abrams said the asking rent was $600,000 a year.