Payard Patisserie & Bistro Will Close In Face of Steep Rent Hike

Famous pastry chef Francois Payard says he may have to close his flagship bistro on the Upper East Side because landlord Stephen Kirschenbaum wants to double the rent to $1 million a year. (Kirschenbaum presumably fell into a coma just as the Dow hit 14,000 and only woke up yesterday.) Payard, who came here from Paris to be the pastry chef at Le Bernardin, has told the New York State Department of Labor that he'll soon have no choice but to shut down the Lexington Avenue location (he also operates a bakery in DUMBO) and terminate 74 employees in August. The chef tells Crain's, "The maximum increase I can bear in this economy is 20%" The building is also home to prince Ertugrul Osman of Turkey, who has lived there since 1945 and paid considerably less than Payard for his rent-controlled apartment: $350 a month. Of course, he had to raise hell in 2006 just to get Kirschenbaum to repair his bathroom ceiling after it collapsed.

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By John Del Signore in Food on May 27, 2009 6:28 PM

Comments [rss]

GreggD

It's simple to figure out, Payard was paying below market rent about 2 to 3 years ago, the landlord took out a mortgage on the property based on pro-forma rents (what if I could get market rent by kicking out the old tenant) and it has not happened and will not happen anytime soon. The landlord is pinched now, his property is likely worth less than his mortgage and he took the proceeds from his loan to pay off other debt and fund his fantasy-land lifestyle just like most people who took out mortgages the past few years. Simple as that.

ANGRYGOD11

How do you know all this?

Are these the facts or your fantasy?

EricRoberts

It's simple!!!

EastRiver

Gothamist's commentary on rent increases would be much more meaningful if you discussed what the current lease terms are and when the current lease was signed. It would also be useful to know how many square feet Payard occupies and how the average rent per square foot compares with other commercial transactions in the neighborhood. Without any context the proposed rent of $1 million might be outrageous or it might be right in line with the market.

ma bell

that would require them actually do some journalistic work and to actually be willing to show both sides of the story...not just copy and paste

Albert

You're dead on. The tiniest bit of homework from this author would show that this place is over 6,000 sq. ft. and that they opened in 1997, so the lease was probably done a year or so before that. And I read that they gross over $8,500,000 a year.

Guess freedom of the press is freedom from thinking.

Snoopy

Do you know how many cannolo a person would need to sell to make that kind of rent?

Let the landlord eat his space for a year.

Kirschenbaum doesn't sound Italian.

If this is a double post blame no one except the crappy service that Gothamist uses.