By Holly Dutton
Iconic bookstore Rizzoli has a new home. The famed book seller that first opened 50 years ago will re-open in NoMad, just off Madison Square Park.
Kew Management announced that the bookstore will open its flagship NYC store in the company’s St. James Building at 1133 Broadway in Spring 2015.
“Our new flagship bookstore will embody the experience our customers expect from Rizzoli while further enhancing their in-store experience,” said Rizzoli International Publications president Marco Ausenda.
“A special salon for events, our trademark interior wrapped in an exciting modern envelope, and other new features will make Rizzoli’s an icon for the future of illustrated bookstores.”
Ausenda added that the company went through an “exhaustive” search throughout several neighborhoods in NYC before finding the perfect space at 1133 Broadway. “Our criteria were fully met only by the 1133 Broadway locations,” he said.
Rizzoli was previously at 31 West 57th Street, where it had been since 1985. It announced it was closing in April after its lease expired at the Vornado and LeFrak-owned building. The building is being torn down to make way for a new hotel.
The new 5,000 s/f space at 1133 Broadway has 29 feet of Broadway frontage, and 18 ft. ceilings which will permit the design of the new store to reflect the old-world theme of the 57th Street location.
Kew Management also recently announced two new restaurants will be opening near Rizzoli at the St. James Building.
The first, LPB, LLC, signed a lease for a 2,244 s/f retail space at 1133 Broadway, next door to Rizzoli, with a planned 2015 opening.
It will occupy a space that formerly housed Havana Tobacco Company showroom, and will have 18 foot ceilings, classical details, 30 feet of frontage on Broadway, and 45 feet of frontage on 26th Street.
President and CEO of Kew Management Corporation Leslie Spira Lopez commented, “We are delighted to be able to bring LPB’s exciting restaurant to our corner retail space. We see this restaurant as a perfect compliment to Rizzoli’s bookstore just next door, and we believe the superior quality of both and their planned interiors will be worthy of the historic St. James. Their arrival will make a definitive difference for our tenants and the NoMad area.”
The second restaurant, a fast-casual Indian inspired eater called Inday, signed a 15-year lease for a 1,530 s/f retail space at 1133 Broadway. Jonathan W. Burke of J.W. Burke & Company represented the tenant in the deal.
Headed by Basu Ratnam, with partners Phil Suarez, Irwin Simon, and Glen Senk, Inday is planning a mid-2015 opening.
Nearby retailers include fashion retailer Opening Ceremony, Maison Kitsune, Pocelanosa, Eataly, Marimekko, and Lego
