Thursday, June 26, 2014

Report: Hearth hit with a 65% rent increase; plus, sidewalk cafe in the works

Meant to note this the other day... when the Times reported that Danny Meyer's 30-year-old Union Square Cafe will be looking for a new home next year after a rent increase.

The article noted a recent spate of high-profile closings and a continuing rise in rents downtown. Among the restaurants facing a huge rent hike: the well-regarded Hearth on East 12th Street at First Avenue. They were just hit with a 65 percent increase, according to the Times.

There aren't any plans to close the place, but ...

[T]he chef and owner, Marco Canora, said his entire business model may have to change.

“I’m trying to be a smart businessman,” Mr. Canora said. “But I can’t do that at the cost of turning my back on my entire belief system and serving commodity pork and Perdue chicken.”

Meanwhile, here's one way to help increase revenue: Hearth has applied for a sidewalk cafe. They are on the docket for the CB3/SLA committee meeting on July 14.

9 comments:

  1. too bad about the sidewalk cafe.
    upper first avenue has been relatively free of sidewalk cafes. people who sit outside, eating an drinking, are rarely quiet and it is a busy avenue with lots of foot traffic and close to schools, hospitals etc. i'd hate to see this as the start of sidewalk cafes moving down first avenue.
    this is still a residential neighborhood folks.

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  2. There should be rent controls for businesses. It's insane that the landlord can raise his rent 65 percent.

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  3. I think the tax write-off for vacancies should be removed. That way, there won't be a (small) safety net for the landlords and they'll have to be realistic about setting prices to keep tenants.

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  4. olympiasepiriot hit it on the nose, this is how we as taxpayers directly subsidize this bullshit. And the irony is so many of the transients that moved into the nabe like students don't pay any taxes. Its a brilliant scheme if you think about it other than we're the ones being used up. Its like Walmart telling its new hires how to sign up for food stamps.

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  5. With L train stop just two blocks away there's always a huge amount of foot traffic along this corridor. That corner (12th and 1st) very congested already and will only increase when the 158 rental unit complex at Mary Help of Christians goes up at 12th and Ave A. That said 65% increase is insane. Not a huge amount of room for seating so don't see how this could save Hearth.

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  6. Isn't USq Cafe one of the top restaurants in this whole city and therefore the world? If I'm a landlord, I'm thinking I want to keep a business like this. God, I have no idea how this stupid game works.

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  7. Ken from Ken's KitchenJune 26, 2014 at 7:11 PM

    Besides being a safe investment, the global super-rich like to buy in NYC because of the proximity to world class restaurants. So maybe if all the Union Square Cafes and Mesas and Hearths have to close up and move to NJ because the rent's too damn high, the richsters will follow.

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  8. This restaurant ridiculously expensive. Part of the reason rents are so high is because of restaurants like this.

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  9. There's always the Terroir Wine Bar chain wit a very original childrens menu.

    Cheese+Charcuterie
    Johnny Thunders 3 cheeses x 3 meats 24.00
    Richard Hell 5 cheeses x 5 meats 35.00
    Joey Ramone 7 cheeses x 7 meats 46.00

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