posted to Instagram<\/a>, Sarabeth\u2019s thanked \u201cthe teams, guests, and neighbors\u201d who made the two now-shuttered locations \u201csuch vibrant, beloved parts of New York City.\u201d <\/p>\nBut the company said the math no longer worked, writing that \u201cdespite everything that was working well, the economics of running these two locations are no longer sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The brand, a fixture of the city\u2019s weekend brunch scene for its classic American comfort food, said it will keep operating its two remaining locations, Central Park South and the Upper West Side, and \u201clook forward to welcoming\u201d loyal customers there.<\/p>\n
But the Upper West Side location is facing its own turmoil: landlord 423 AMCO sued operator BSWR Inc. in Manhattan Supreme Court in late July, claiming the restaurant owes $43,432.16 in back rent, additional rent and percentage rent covering May through July. Google Maps<\/p>\n
Stephen Van Note, a representative for RBM Restaurant Group, which operates Sarabeth\u2019s, told The Post both spots stayed busy right up until closing, pointing instead to a mix of rising labor and operating costs, aging facilities and occupancy costs that made the locations \u201cfinancially unsustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company said it invested extra capital to keep both spots open before ultimately closing them. The Greenwich Village landlord was cooperative in transitioning the space to a new tenant, Van Note said, but the Park Avenue South building recently changed hands, and the new ownership left Sarabeth\u2019s dealing with low occupancy and long-term scaffolding. The company \u201cwere ultimately unable to reach an arrangement with the new landlord that made continued operation viable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He declined to disclose rent figures for either shuttered location, saying only \u201cwe don\u2019t disclose the financial terms of our leases.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about reopening in either neighborhood, Van Note left the door open, saying Sarabeth\u2019s has no plans to announce but would \u201cabsolutely consider the right location if it is a good fit for the Sarabeth\u2019s brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The closures affected roughly 90 employees, all of whom are eligible for rehire, though Van Note said the company doesn\u2019t have the capacity to absorb everyone into its remaining restaurants. As for the two locations still standing, Van Note said Sarabeth\u2019s isn\u2019t going anywhere, calling Central Park South \u201cour flagship and a thriving restaurant\u201d and the Upper West Side one of its \u201clongstanding locations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarabeth\u2019s has long been a buzzy brunch staple around the city. Helayne Seidman<\/p>\n
But that longstanding Upper West Side outpost, at 423 Amsterdam Ave., has troubles of its own.<\/p>\n
Landlord 423 AMCO sued the restaurant\u2019s operator, BSWR Inc., also known as BWRS Inc., in Manhattan Supreme Court in late July, accusing Sarabeth\u2019s of blowing off rent payments and refusing to report sales figures required under its lease.<\/p>\n
According to the landlord\u2019s complaint obtained by The Post, Sarabeth\u2019s owes $43,432.16 in back rent, additional rent and percentage rent, covering shortfalls from May, June and July of this year.<\/p>\n
The suit alleges the restaurant violated its 2020 lease modification by \u201cfailing to report Gross Sales within thirty \u2026 days of end of each month\u201d and by failing to pay base rent \u201cin the amount of $10,000.00 per month ($120,000.00 per year) or 8% \u2026 of monthly sales.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under that 2020 agreement, Sarabeth\u2019s had negotiated a hybrid rent structure tying its payments to sales performance, along with an additional 1% of sales earmarked to repay rent that had previously been abated.<\/p>\n
The landlord claims it sent a default notice on June 11 giving the restaurant until June 22 to catch up, then followed up with a formal notice of lease cancellation on July 1 after the restaurant failed to cure the default. The lease was terminated effective July 13, according to the filing, though the restaurant \u201cremains in occupancy of the Premises beyond the Termination Date without Landlord\u2019s consent.\u201d<\/p>\n
A hearing on the landlord\u2019s full request, including recovery of the arrears, is set for Sept. 8. Google Maps<\/p>\n
The landlord is seeking a laundry list of remedies from the court, including a money judgment for the unpaid rent, an order forcing Sarabeth\u2019s to resume reporting its sales, and \u2014 if the restaurant doesn\u2019t fall in line \u2014 the right to eject the tenant with the help of the city sheriff.<\/p>\n
The case escalated in August. On August 5, attorney Norman Flitt of Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. notified the restaurant\u2019s operator that the landlord was seeking a court order with a temporary restraining order attached, warning \u201cwe will be filing a motion by order to show cause, containing an interim order and temporary restraining order.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following week, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle E. Frank signed off on a temporary order directing Sarabeth\u2019s to start paying up. Under the order, the restaurant must pay $17,810.72 in use and occupancy for August, and continue paying that amount \u201con or before the first \u2026 day of each calendar month thereafter,\u201d while the case plays out.<\/p>\n
Frank\u2019s order also bars Sarabeth\u2019s from destroying sales records and requires the restaurant to hand over monthly gross sales figures dating back to March.<\/p>\n
A hearing on the landlord\u2019s broader request, which includes posting more than $43,000 to cover the arrears, is scheduled for Sept. 8. Justice Frank has directed that the matter be argued orally.<\/p>\n
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