Eastern Consolidated’s Retail Leasing Division is proud to celebrate the opening of Nix, Michelin-star chef John Fraser’s new all-vegetarian restaurant, which opened this week in at 72 University Place in Greenwich Village. Fraser also is the chef at Narcissa at The Standard Hotel in the East Village, and chef and proprietor for Dovetail on the Upper West Side.
At Nix, Fraser and restauranteur James Truman, the former editorial director of Conde Nast, will be offering a vegetarian menu prepared using both a wok station and tandoor oven. Steve Ells, founder of Chipolte Mexican Grill, is the restaurant’s primary investor.
James Famularo, Principal and Senior Director in Eastern Consolidated’s Retail Leasing Division, represented Fraser, while associates Jeff Geoghegan and Alex Geisinger represented the landlord in the 10-year, 2,000-square-foot lease for Nix at 72 University Place.
This transaction represents the reach of Famularo, who is one of New York City’s top restaurant leasing brokers, arranging over 600 leases for food and beverage establishments during his career as well as representing dozens of international brands such as Jacadi, Livly, and Zuber.
“John was searching for a long time for a space on University Place because it’s a special corridor with historic buildings and an abundance of charm,” Famularo said. “When I heard we got the listing for 72 University Place, I immediately called John who jumped at the chance to lease the space before anyone else even saw it.”
In recent months, Famularo has arranged restaurant leases for chef David Chang, who opened Momofuku Nishi at 232 Eighth Avenue; Tatsuya Sekiguchi, the master sushi chef to the stars who is opening Sushi Tatsu at 175 Franklin Street; critically acclaimed chef Ben Pope who is opening the restaurant Sum at 165 Avenue B; successful restauranteur Joon Kim, who is opening Seoul Bistro in Brooklyn; the Plaza Hotel’s luxury caviar boutique and bar, Olma Caviar Bar, which will be opening a second location at 420 Amsterdam Avenue; and the relocation of Spring Street Natural to 98 Kenmare Street. He also quickly found two tenants—Café Grumpy and a tech cooperative–for the Brewster Carriage House condominium’s retail space, which had sat vacant for years.
