Soup Moguls To Try Solid Food At Times Building

By Chris Shott

Published on January 31, 2008

Hale and Hearty Soup chain founders Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper have leased the last empty retail space in The New York Times Building.

The brothers will be opening a new restaurant concept described as "an updated version of a classic roadside eatery serving burgers, salads and other American favorites in a fast casual, relaxed setting," in 3,200 square feet at the corner of corner of Eighth Avenue and 41st Street, according to developer Forest City Ratner Companies.

Full announcement below:

‘Fast Casual American’ Eatery To Occupy Last Retail Space

NEW YORK—Thursday, January 31, 2008—Forest City Ratner Companies announced that it has leased the last available retail space in The New York Times Building at 620 Eighth Avenue near
Times Square.

Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper, the brothers who founded New York’s innovative Hale and Hearty Soup chain, have leased 3,200 square feet at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 41st Street for their first new “concept” restaurant, an updated version of a classic roadside eatery serving burgers, salads and other American favorites in a fast casual, relaxed setting. The 20-year lease also includes 1,000 square feet of outdoor seating.

With the Schnipper signing, Forest City Ratner has successfully leased all five retail units in The New York Times Building totaling 21,000 square feet. The other retail tenants are Montenapo, a new casually elegant restaurant from the Bice Restaurant Group, which will serve Northern Italian cuisine; Muji, the innovative Japanese purveyor of simple, distinctive housewares, furniture and clothing; a 60-seat Dean & DeLuca Café; and Inakaya, a “robatayaki”-style Japanese restaurant known for its grilling. Office space in the 52-story tower is now more than 90 percent leased.

Miriam Harris, Vice-President for Commercial and Residential Leasing at Forest City Ratner Companies, said, “I’m very pleased that the Schnipper brothers, who’ve done such a great job providing casual fare for New Yorkers with Hale and Hearty Soups, have chosen The New York Times Building to unveil their first new restaurant. The wide range of dining choices in the Times Building is a terrific addition to the burgeoning neighborhood.”

Andrew Schnipper, CEO and co-owner of The Schnipper Restaurant Group with his brother Jonathan, who is the Executive Chef, said, “We are very excited to be launching the first location of our newest concept in a high profile building and booming part of Times Square. Renzo Piano has designed a unique retail environment that will allow us to create a dramatic restaurant with floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides and ceiling heights of over 20 feet. The Times Building is the cornerstone of the extraordinary redevelopment of the neighborhood and we're confident the area will continue to thrive for years to come.”

Candice Dobbs of Dobbs Associates, Inc., represented the Schnippers in the transaction. Last August, Dobbs was completing a deal for a Dean & DeLuca Café at the 40th Street corner of The New York Times Building, when she suggested that her clients the Schnipper brothers look at the Times Building for their new concept. Dobbs believed the Schnippers would be captivated by the new Times Building with its beautiful, open, airy ground-floor spaces. “I knew the brothers would appreciate the soaring ceilings and endless frontage that this space had to offer—for a brand new concept, this would be tremendous exposure.”

Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, The New York Times Building celebrated its grand opening in November 2007, and is now home to a dozen diverse corporate tenants. The building, which is located between 40th and 41st Streets on Eighth Avenue, is topped by a 300-foot steel rooftop mast bringing its height to 1,046 feet.

The 1.5-million-gross-square-foot New York Times Building is owned jointly, as condominiums, by The New York Times Company and Forest City Ratner Companies. The Times Company owns floors two through 27 and Forest City Ratner owns floors 29 through 50 and floor 52, as well as 21,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Floors 28 and 51 are jointly owned by The Times Company and Forest City.