It has now been reported that Lenox Lounge will shutter by December 31st of this year. The landlord of 228 Lenox Avenue has increased the rent to $20,000 for each month and has thus forced the owner of the famous lounge to close its doors after seven decades. A famous restauranteur who is a partner of the notable Nobu restaurant downtown has signed the lease for the location with the intent of transforming the space into Harlem's next destination spot but will not be able to do so using the lounge's famous name. The current owner of Lenox Lounge still owns the trademark for the historic jazz spot and will only consider a partnership but refuses to sell the name. If an agreement does not come about soon, then Lenox Lounge could possibly disappear forever:
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Wow... This is sad... I was there just the other night and it was packed. Any chance the Nobu will partner & just bring in better food?
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, I think both parties will come to an agreement. It helps Notar to have the name, but I can him not wanting to make Reed a partner as he probably has a vision for the space. Reed will have nothing if he doesn't ultimately agree to something, and Notar can still have a very nice space in a great location and can find other ways to invoke Harlem history (after all, Marcus Samuelson took an old Harlem name and re-incarnated it in a different location). It would be a shame, though, if the name goes away entirely. Fingers crossed they come to a resolution. But I'm an optimist! After all I still believe the Republicans will blink and the fiscal cliff will be resolved!
ReplyDeleteWhy hasn't there been more of a protest by the various Lenox avenue associations? They caused a huge furor over a random liquor store opening on the avenue, why cant more be dome to save lenox lounge? (Or maybe they would rather have a flashy new place by a partner from Nobu?) Disgusting
ReplyDeleteYou're assuming Mr. Reed asked for, wanted or was willing to accept help.
DeleteGuest - For starters, the historic district does not extend above 124th street. Also, the landlord can do with the building what he/she wants - how can we tell them somebody they have to keep renting it for less than what they could capture in the free market? But lastly, I think it is unfair to point the blame only on the new owners and not on the old owners. I give the old owner a lot of credit for taking the place when nobody else wanted it, but he didn't run it that well (people complained about food, service, etc). Given how petty he was when he tried to stop Corner Social from becoming "Lenox Social," I would not be surprised if the new owners feel he is difficult to deal with and do not want him involved in the new business day-to-day. Also, he knew for a long time the rent was increasing and he had to find a partner - the fact that he couldn't find one speaks volumes given the history of the place, Harlem becoming "hot," and the location (near Red Rooster, the new Whole Foods). The space is worth more with the name than without it, so the demand was there. None of us know what happened behind closed doors but I suspect Mr. Reid might be overplaying his hand just a bit ..
ReplyDeleteI'm saddened to see Lenox Lounge go but I'm also annoyed at Alvin Reed for his lack of foresight and poor planning. This didn't just happen overnight. The lease has been up for awhile and even before that it was clear to most that the area was changing and becoming more expensive. Instead of picking silly fights with newcomers (Lenox Social, now Corner Social) he could have looked for partners with cash to spruce things up and start bringing in more business. While the rent is going up, money can be made on that corner or Notar wouldn't be coming here I like Jazz, I like to drink. I've been to Lenox Lounge a few times but I never felt like it made enough of an effort to be welcoming to locals or draw people from the rest of the city. It was like he felt it could just coast on its history. And now like a petulant child he's going to take his sign/name and go
ReplyDeleteIt would be stupid to form a partnership with someone who has already failed the business. Alvin Reed had nothing to offer but a name. A name which could easily be tweaked and used with out problems. I wonder, who owns the sign out front?
ReplyDeleteAnd the list of small black businesses having to close down in Harlem continues....Harlem Vintage, Nectar, Hue-Man Bookstore, Harlem Lanes, Mobay Restaurant, and so on. According to these last few posts, the owners must have all been too hard to get along with so they were forced to close. Wake up and realize what's really going on here, before it's too late...once again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The writing is on the wall when landlords double rent payments. The developers are lining the landlords pocket and telling them, "we want this property/location, do what you have to do to get your tenant out". Rent should not double in one month-that surpasses market rent!!!
DeleteAnd I don't know why the Lenox Lounge is not a historical landmark. This saddens me to no end. I will be there this month actually and I am glad I will be able to visit before it shut its doors.
I am glad this blog is able to document all these changes in Harlem.
Correlation is not causation. Yes all these businesses have closed recently but not all of them have closed for the same reasons.
Deletep.s. the owners of Harlem Vintage/Nectar were not all Black.
The owners of Nectar is definitely black...am I am almost positive the same for Vintage.
DeleteOwners of Nectar and Vintage same people and are AA. HARLEM WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!
DeleteLet's not make this about race. The owners of Red Rooster, 67 orange ( and that new cafe), Mocha and Chocolat, etc. are black. All of the establishments have diverse clientele. The reality is the restaurant / retail business has always been tough in NYC given high rents and competition.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to be successful, you need to keep up with the Joneses. Have you been to Lenox Lounge? Have you been to more successful businesses in the area? Do you see the differences?
ReplyDeleteI was in the area for Easter Sunday in the late afternoon and Corner Social was PACKED. Sylvia's was PACKED. Red Rooster was PACKED.
ReplyDeleteThere were only about three people in Lenox Lounge.
Seems to me most of Alvin Reed's problems are his own doing.
I guess we wil see if Notar and Company can keep the place filled.
Vic, I could not agree with you more, Lenox Lounge always seemed to have a f-you attitude. The food was horrible, service horrible, music depended on the night was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteIt would appear to me that very little care was taken to attract clients and as a result it will now dies. For those who are screaming "wake up" this has been happening all over the city. Many "institutions" have been closing.