BY THE VILLAGE SUN | A bit more information has become available about the Korean restaurant coming in on the east side of Sixth Avenue south of Eighth Street.
The Village Sun recently reported (“Can kimchi and bibimbap save 6th Ave. strip in Greenwich Village?”) that the Asian eatery is on track to open in the former 99 Cent Pizza, Grab and Go and Staples store spaces. It will bring a positive use to the down-on-its-heels commercial strip and some healthy things to ingest, as opposed to the crack and fentanyl currently to be found on the sidewalk out front.
The estimate by a neighboring merchant — that the restaurant would be around 10,000 square feet — was pretty accurate. According to a source, the place will occupy 2,300 square feet on the ground floor and 7,000 square feet on the second floor.
The former Grab and Go space, which is an additional 4,500 square feet, actually will be a separate “sushi concept” by the same operator.
All of this space is expected to be turned over to the operator in the next few weeks, with a target date for opening in around six months from now, by the spring or summer.
Our source was not at liberty to reveal the name of the restaurant chain, which is reportedly based in California, but assured that it’s “a sophisticated operator” that knows what it’s doing.
A commercial tenant is still being sought to sign a lease ASAP for the building’s vacant two top floors.
Staples used to occupy the building’s second through fourth floors, along with an entrance lobby, but moved out of the address a year or two before the COVID pandemic. Landlord Friedland Properties subsequently decided to “break it up a bit more,” instead of leasing the building as a single unit.
Meanwhile, there was no update or explanation on what is delaying the opening of the Tashkent supermarket — also part of the Friedland parcel — at the corner of Waverly Place.
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