Rue 57 Battles Landlord over Lease as Closure Looms
The 57th Street brasserie is scheduled to close in April, according to a notice filed with the Department of Labor. A company official blames issues with lease renewal.
Time may be running out for Rue 57, a New York City French-inspired brasserie that has called the corner of Sixth Avenue and 57th Street home for 26 years.
While the business navigates a pending lease renewal, it recently field a WARN notice with the Department of Labor saying it expects to close its doors on April 9. All 60 employees would be laid off, according to the filing.
Known for “bringing Asian flair and American gusto to traditional European dishes,” Rue 57 has offered unique Asian fusion meals. The upscale restaurant prides itself on a menu where sushi meets Eggs Benedict meets cocktails.
But as of Jan. 17, the restaurant has issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification that stated the expected closure is for “economic” and “COVID-19”-related purposes.
Rue 57 had previously closed on March 16, 2020, as a precautionary measure during the pandemic. It reopened for business again on July 8 of that year. But it seems to have experienced a bumpy ride in its reopening efforts due to COVID. In a February 2021 report in the New York Post it said the restaurant was not going to reopen “due to lack of tourists and office workers” that would normally bring foot traffic to that area.
Since resuming their dining experience four summers ago, Rue 57 has received a host of mixed reviews on multiple platforms. Across Yelp, Tripadvisor and OpenTable, the restaurant received averages of 3.4, 4.0 and 4.3 out of five stars, respectively.
While the WARN notice referred to “economic” and “COVID-19” as the reasons for the closure, Al DiBlasio, the Chief Financial Officer, told Straus News that the restaurant’s closure has to do with so far fruitless negotiations with the building’s landlord.
“The entity was negotiating for lease renewal, and it doesn’t look like we’re going to get the lease,” DiBlasio said. “We still might get it, but we don’t know.”
Asked if there’s a possibility for Rue 57 to stay open, DiBlasio repeated that “it’s a pending lease negotiation.”
Unless the restaurant manages to negotiate its lease, the 57th street staple is on schedule for closure on April 9, according to the WARN notice.
“We still might get [the lease], but we don’t know.”