Pryor Cashman Represents Eataly in Establishing NYC Presence at 200 Fifth Avenue
Eataly, the largest artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in the world, announced on July 1, 2009 that it is coming to New York. As stated in the press release, two years after Oscar Farentti opened his groundbreaking food and wine market in Turin, Italy, he is teaming up with Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and Lidia Matticchio Bastianich of Batali-Bastianich (B&B) Hospitality Group to transform a 42,500 square-foot space in the Flatiron District into New York City’s premier culinary mecca.
The marketplace at 200 Fifth Avenue will be the city’s ultimate destination for food lovers to shop and taste and savor – an extravaganza that will include a premier retail center for Italian delicacies and wine, a culinary educational center, and a diverse slate of boutique eateries.
Each retail area will be paired with its own dedicated restaurant, including a wood-fired pizza and pasta bar, a cheese and salami counter, a steak restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant, a crudo and seafood bar, and a classic Italian bar serving gelato, espresso, and wine. On the ground floor, there will be a separate wine shop, bakery and patisserie. On the roof will be a 4,500 square foot open-air rooftop beer garden serving pizza and sausages.
Pryor Cashman’s Ronald Kremnitzer, co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate Group, represented Eataly in the retail transaction, along with Partner Bradley Kaufman.
An article about the transaction appeared in the July 29, 2009 edition of The New York Law Journal. Kremnitzer, who was interviewed for the piece, stated: “In today’s market it’s particularly special to leave such a large footprint. It will be a destination. It’s not just a stop to your local butcher." Kremnitzer said that transaction closed despite the sheer size of the project and the age of the building, formerly known as the International Toy Center - factors that have disrupted other recent transactions. “We try in the real estate community to work so that everyone adds value to the deal and create a vision. You don’t always succeed in that - particularly in today’s market. There’s still a very big disconnect between buyers and sellers.
