Ollie’s moved out of its space at 67th street and Broadway after a fire in January 2013, and since then the space has been vacant, with its glassed-in atrium filled with people sitting and relaxing, including some who appear to be homeless. It’s a high-traffic spot, given that it’s right next to the Apple store; Shake Shack owner Danny Meyer was briefly rumored to be eying the spot.
A permit application filed recently with the local community board offered hints about a possible new tenant.
An applicant called the Sugar Factory has applied for a permit to operate a business in the space, according to Community Board 7. A company called Sugar Factory has restaurants all over the country, including one in the meatpacking district that serves basic American food and all sorts of elaborate drinks, and confections. New York magazine says it’s a mix of a “full-service celebrity hangout restaurant, a broad menu of savory food, and a hyperactive candy emporium.” It came from Vegas, after all.
A Community Board 7 rep indicated that the applicant was the same Sugar Factory as the one in the meatpacking district, but a company employee said she hadn’t heard anything about them opening an Upper West Side restaurant: “It’s not us.”
The lawyer listed on the permit application did not return a request for comment. A community board committee is set to hear the company’s application for a permit in May.
This space is supposed to allow free access for the “community.” A nearby developer was granted a building variance in exchange for providing open access without having to purchase anything. Probably most people in the area aren’t aware or don’t know about this.
My memory is a little fuzzy on this, but didn’t the landlord attempt to transfer responsibility for the public space over to the BID recently? Seemed shady to me: the owner received the variance benefit and was reneging on providing a public space.
That said, when I think of this one to some of the other privately maintained public spaces around Manhattan, its design is a little dark and uninviting. I’m trying to remember now, is this where the art film the Clock ran a couple summers ago?
The Clock by Christian Marclay showed at Paula Cooper. i don’t remember it being shown anywhere else in Manhattan.
i agree that the space is uninviting.
I guess this was after the Paula Cooper showing, at a Lincoln Center space between 62nd and 63rd. https://lc.lincolncenter.org/shows/205056?show_date=2012-07-28+00:00:00 I remember standing on line on Broadway, then thinking I should watch at least as long as I’d stood on line. Such a delight – I wish it was on permanent exhibit in the city.
cool story bro
Does anyone else think it is strange that the other Ollies on UWS near Columbia also caught fire in March?
My thoughts exactly. Ollies at Columbia is a gold mine. Why have they stayed closed so long? Columbia is pushing ConEd to fix the problem because the building above it is a Barnard dorm. A real question, Whassup?
Yeah, I was wondering about that too.
Interesting. Check their finances and if they are in serious debt, or going bankrupt, then it looks even fishier.
Any and all new dining options in the Lincoln Square neighborhood would be welcome.
The concept and menu sound a lot like Sugar & Plumm just up the street, which is really just a rip off of Serendipity. Nonetheless, I hope the food and sweets are good. It would be nice to have a decent dinner/dessert place across the street from the movie theater!
There’s no where to eat from 59th until 72nd thT isn’t expensive and awful. That neighborhood sucks.