Diner Returns to Far West Side

NEW YORK CITY-Residential and office tenants gravitating to Eleventh Avenue have another option for a neighborhood hangout. The Market Diner, among the largest remaining in Manhattan at 11,500 square feet, has reopened after being closed for more than two years. The Moinian Group, owners of the property, made the announcement earlier this week.

Daniel Gohari, VP and director of leasing at the Moinian Group, tells GlobeSt.com the diner has actually been open for business since last month, following an extensive capital improvement campaign and interior re-design. The Market Diner’s new owners, James Athanasopoulos and Elias and John Tsinias, signed a 10-year lease for the property at 587 Eleventh Ave. Rent was not disclosed.

An artifact of the days when its neighborhood was known as one of the roughest in Manhattan–its clientele at one time included the now-disbanded Westies gang as well as celebrities who used it as a late-night hangout, including Frank Sinatra and Bette Midler–the 47-year-old Hell’s Kitchen fixture is now looking at a more upscale customer base. Gohari says the diner’s new owners were attracted by the burgeoning residential development nearby, including the Moinian Group’s Atelier condominium at 635 W. 42nd St., which will be joined by an adjacent rental apartment building. A bellwether office tenant was also a draw: Ogilvy New York, which is scheduled to move into its new 564,000-square-foot headquarters at 636 Eleventh Ave. later this year.