business
exclusively
April 3, 2023 | 7:13 p.m
They cook Chardonnay and cocktail sauce on the Upper West Side.
The Mermaid Inn, which made a splash on Amsterdam Avenue for 15 years before it closed last year, has fallen again nearby.
The new Mermaid will reopen later this year at 335 Columbus Ave. on West 76th Street, a former Chase bank branch. Danny Abrams, who co-owns the popular seafood-driven Mermaid mini-empire with Cindy Smith, said it will have an impressive 6,500 square feet.
“The lease took longer than we expected, but we got a good deal” from the owner of Olshan Properties, Abrams said. Talks for the vacant space began in June, but Abrams declined to discuss terms.
Amsterdam Avenue Mermaid is one of the area’s favorite restaurants. The owners made what Smith called the “very unfortunate” decision to close it last fall because of uncertainty over the owner’s plans for the building.
He said they’re already looking for a new location — which sometimes proves to be empty words after any popular spot closes.
The reopening marks a boost for the fledgling Columbus Avenue and Upper West Side retail scenes where many storefronts have been emptied.
Neighborhood resident Linda Alexander, who is a member of Community Board 7, called the Mermaid’s return “awesome. They’ve always been some of the best restaurant operators we’ve had.”
Meanwhile, the first phase of Adams’ and Smith’s jumbo Mermaid Oyster Bar at 127 W. 43rd St., a collaboration with Alicart Restaurant Group CEO Jeffrey Bank, is “taking off” as crowds flock to Broadway theaters and Times Square, Abrams said. .
The second half of the venue will open in a few months, he said.
Load more…
{{#isDisplay}}
{{/isDisplay}}{{#isAniviewVideo}}
{{/isAniviewVideo}}{{#isSRVideo}}
{{/isSRVideo}}