Empire Stores Adds Detroit Based Watchmaker Shinola (with Cafe) Along with Restaurants Vinegar Hill House and Pizza East

Rendering from empirestoresdumbo.com

Rendering from empirestoresdumbo.com

Detroit-based watchmaker Shinola will be opening a store in the Empire Stores in the Fulton Ferry Historic District, according to a Crain’s article.

Shinola will be leasing 5,000 square feet of retail space and will be its first in Brooklyn. They currently have a store on Franklin Street in TriBeCa. Crain’s says that like that location, the new one will feature a cafe operated by The Smile. Dumbo retailers Dabney Lee and Modern Anthology also offer Shinola products.

The Crain’s article notes that the lease is a 10 year deal and Shinola will “showcase other products that Shinola has expanded into, including high-end handmade bicycles and apparel such as leather goods and clothing.”

Mr. Beare said that most of Empire Store’s 75,000 square feet of retail space is now spoken for. He is in the process of finishing about 20,000 square feet of deals, including a yet-to-be-announced 9,500-square-foot food market and a 10,000-square-foot restaurant. He is also about to name the operator of a beer garden that will occupy a public space on the building’s roof. Only about 7,000 square feet of retail space remains available at the property. The food market will feel even bigger, Mr. Beare said, because it will connect into the restaurant space, The Smile cafe, Vinegar Hill House, as well as the building’s glass-roofed central lobby.

“We started with asking rents of $150 per square foot but have since bumped that to $200 per square foot because of the activity and interest,” Mr. Beare said. “The rates we’re getting are much higher than we expected.”

Mr. Beare said the food market will echo Eataly, the popular Italian culinary emporium on West 23rd Street. “It’s going to incorporate many food types and local vendors,” he said.

Last month, Eater noted that Vinegar Hill House and London based Pizza East have also leased space at Empire Stores.

Empire Stores is scheduled to be completed in early 2016.

{empirestoresdumbo.com}
{Empire Store Redevelopment Announcement, 04Sep2013, DumboNYC}