174-176 First Ave. arrived on the market in June 2013 with an asking price of $12 million.
Since 1904, No. 176 has been home to DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe. The DeRobertis family owns the building, so it seemed likely that the bakery would remain despite the sale... until a real-estate listing circulated in May showing that the retail spaces in the basement and first floor of No. 176 would be delivered vacant once the buildings sell. (However, workers there have told us several times that they were not closing... and that the building wasn't even for sale.)
According to the listing at Corcoran, the building is now in contract.
Streeteasy notes that the building entered into contract on Oct. 31...
DeRobertis is one of our favorite places around. So we do hope that they will live on with the new owners.
One troubling sign, though — the DeRobertis website is no long active...
Updated: DeRobertis reportedly will close after Dec. 5.
That is sad news.
ReplyDeletedamn
ReplyDeletethey have reasonable prices
they don't push you to order more or move on
they know you after you've been there twice
this past saturday the place was full and for a while there was a short line
there is no other place like it around here
$12 million doesn't seem like a lot these days
Are the DeRobertis keeping their workers in the dark about the impending sale/closure? I'm confused about the mis-information coming out of DeRobertis. Why are they denying that they sold their building?
ReplyDeleteevery time there us a post about the sale of the building i ask and am advised that there is no pending sale.
ReplyDeleteeveryone says no sale.
i don't understand that either.
i would think that if they were going to stay open after the sale they'd want to tell people.
It is a chance for the family to make lots of $$ and retire from the business. I am sure it is for sale.
ReplyDeleteMy husband spoke to a old neighborhood shop owner who inherited it from his family - he said that the only reason he did not sell is that they did not own the building & that many of the old shops in family owned buildings were going to be selling soon as prices are at a record high.
This place is a time capsule back to a time when most of us were not born. The interiors is a gem and looks like a movie set for an early 20th century cafe bakery. This is a depressing development and one less piece of our past gone forever.
ReplyDeleteThat sound you just heard was my heart shattering.
ReplyDeleteThis is such sad news. Jeremiah Moss mentioned it as one of his favorite places in his NY Post article two days ago:
ReplyDeletehttp://nypost.com/2014/11/16/jeremiah-moss-my-vanishing-new-york/
Anon 9:59 - I get why they would want to sell out, but I don't get why they would lie about it. Seems disrespectful to their long-time customers.
ReplyDeleteTheir website has been down for months. I agree it was not a wise course to lie about closing, as one of the owners did to my face when I asked once.
ReplyDeleteI love de Robertis and will be sad to see it go. I wish, however, that they'd tried harder to stay in business. Everyone does not eat sweets around the clock. They could have added sandwiches -- even pre-made ones bought from Taralucci or something -- and then people like me would have made a point to go to de R for lunch. They could have offered fruit for breakfast. Anything.
Unfortunately some places, as special as they are, just don't work hard enough on the BUSINESS part.
Maybe because they decide at some point to cash out and retire.
It's high time to create the Restaurant Preservation Matchmaker!
ReplyDelete(See last "restaurateurs can..." graf here: http://bit.ly/1kHOgzM )
Anyone?
If the present owners inherited a building that's been family-owned for ages, the temptation to take the money and run must be strong.
ReplyDeleteIt's just sad that this nabe, which you couldn't give away a few decades back, is now "cash-in central" - I mean, really, $12 million for those 2 buildings?!
think about how LITTLE $12 million is these days. people spend millions for an apartment. this is two buildings.
ReplyDeleteThis prime East Village asset is comprised of two adjoined mixed use walk-up apartment buildings, with a combined 35.5’ of frontage on First Avenue. The basement and first floors are occupied by 3 unique retail stores. The 176 First Ave building, has rail road style one bedroom apartments on the second, third and fourth floors with east and west exposure. The 174 First Ave building, has rail road style one bedroom apartments on the second and third floors with east and west exposure.
This is horrible. After steering people to them, and away from Veniero's, for decades, we're left with ashes in our mouth, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteLived on the top floor of 174 in the 90's. Had our two children there. So sad to see it being sold. Mr & Mrs. D were the nicest people.
ReplyDeleteSomeone just told me that DeRobertis is closing next weekend.
ReplyDeleteGah!
ReplyDeleteFirst Flight Music!
Now when my kid needs new strings at 7 o'clock at night, I'll need to walk somewhere with him 'cause any music store is much further now that A-1 is closed and I guess First Flight will be, too.
I stopped in after work, they were closing up for the night but let me buy a few canolli's. When I asked about why they were closing the owner said it was time, and he didn't want to burden his kids with running such a time consuming business. I said it was sad, but I understood and I hoped he knew how much we loved them. I don't think they made this decision in haste, I hope people try and stop in and wish them well.
ReplyDeleteDecember 6th is the last day.
ReplyDeleteI was just there. The lights were dimmed in the back, and the shelves in front are starting to be emptied. I spent so much time in places like DeRobertis since I was a child, a baby even. I brought my mother (who grew up in Flatbush) there when she'd visit, she absolutely loved it. DeRobertis is a place that we both feel comfortable in, that we understand .. an entire way of life is disappearing. It breaks my heart. Of all of the things we have lost in the EV, this is hitting me the hardest.
ReplyDelete