First Lamb Shabu, a Beijing-based hot pot chain with more than 300 locations in China, is opening its first Manhattan outpost at 218 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
According to the Commercial Observer, the company, which has a location out in Flushing, signed a 10-year lease for the space with a $20,000-per-month rent.
The storefront has been empty for several years, ever since Dunkin' Donuts decamped for a smaller space on the block in August 2015.
Previously on EV Grieve:
East 14th Street Dunkin' Donuts shuffle complete
The Dunkin' Donuts space on East 14th Street is for rent
6 comments:
How exciting! I hope its BYOB like Le Sia!
20,000 a month ?
How long will they last.
i suppose their feeling is, why not make sixty or a hundred grand instead of having this place open because nobody other than enormous companies with money to spare on risky ventures like this can afford the rent?
Given the high rent and sketchy location, the First Lamb Shabu may soon be a sacrificial lamb.
This looks like it’s next to Vanessa’s Dumplings, where I get lunch for under $6..This stretch of 14th St is cheap, fast food for nearby workers and students. At $20,000/mo rent, a higher priced restaurant is called for- but this isn’t the right location. A large chain will either subsidize it with income from other locations or opt out of their lease after a year.
I’ve noticed at the hot pot restaurant on 2nd Ave between 5/6 sts that the clientele is 98% Asian and school aged (maybe some recent graduates), same with Meet Fresh, the Taiwanese dessert place around the corner on 3rd Ave. If only this population is supporting these places, how long before they are canibalizing one another?
Maybe not the same issue for the other styles of Chinese cuisine, but noticeable on these two fronts..
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