Newmark Retail announced a 2,230 s/f lease at 885 Eighth Avenue for the newest P.F. Chang’s To Go.
This marks the fifth such lease in the city in the past 18 months as P.F. Chang’s expands its off-premise dining concept throughout the country.
Newmark’s Vice Chairman Ariel Schuster and Associate Director Mitch Heifetz represented P.F. Chang’s in this transaction and are helping the brand expand nationally by utilizing Newmark’s network of brokers, including seven recent transactions in Florida (including Jacksonville, Orlando, Boynton Beach, Miami, Winter Garden and Lake Mary) and one transaction in Glendale, Colo., with several more in progress.
P.F Chang’s began to grow its new To Go concept in 2019, before the pandemic, and has strategically continued openings throughout 2020 and into 2021.
Open P.F. Chang’s To Go locations in New York City include 240 West 40th Street, 630 Third Avenue, 60 Fulton Street and 938 Third Avenue. The need for off-premise dining accelerated at the onset of the pandemic amid enforced dining room closures.
The brand’s latest location at 885 Eighth Avenue is a corner location in Midtown West, serving the Midtown West and Columbus Circle markets. The new restaurant will allow more guests to experience the P.F. Chang’s brand via online ordering, takeout, catering and delivery using DeliverSafe eco-friendly packaging to ensure guests receive their meal just as it was prepared in the restaurant.
P.F. Chang’s To Go model focuses on dense urban areas that offer smaller real estate footprints, allowing the chain to enter larger markets and reach a variety of customers. It complements P.F. Chang’s full-scale restaurants in suburban markets.
P.F. Chang’s To-Go locations measure approximately 1,500 to 2,000 s/f, compared to the 7,000 s/f in a typical full-service P.F. Chang’s. P.F. Chang’s To Go offers a curated menu of the most well-known made from scratch dishes, including guest favorites like Chang’s Lettuce Wraps, Mongolian Beef, Dynamite Shrimp and Chang’s Spicy Chicken. The kitchen duplicates the back of house capabilities of a full-scale P.F. Chang’s restaurant. No matter the location, all menu items are scratch-prepared.
“Off-premise dining for notable food purveyors had been a growing category pre-pandemic; however, since last March, this asset class has only accelerated due to demand from many folks as the shelter in place restrictions were implemented,” said Schuster.
“In addition to the brand’s newest location in Manhattan, we are currently helping P.F. Chang’s explore real estate in several other markets nationwide as they continue to pursue their elevated approach to off-premise dining.”
According to Newmark Research, quick service and food purveyors represent about 40 percent of the tenants in the market looking for space since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since last March, there have been 45 quick service deals for 25 percent of the overall new retail leases signed over the past year.
