Food news as Futterman wraps up restaurant deals.

The Restaurant and Food Practice Group of Robert K. Futterman & Associates, LLC (RKF) has recently secured space for a number of restaurants, including Mr. Chow in Lower Manhattan, P.J. Clarke's at the Empire Hotel in Manhattan's Lincoln Center, Sarabeth's adjacent to New York's Central Park and Zengo for Richard Sandoval in Washington, DC.

RKF recently completed a turnkey restaurant purchase with upscale Chinese restaurant and celebrity hangout, Mr. Chow, at 121 Hudson Street in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood.

The 16,500 s/f restaurant, which is expected to open February 2006, will be Mr. Chow's second location in Manhattan and first in Lower Manhattan.

Robert K. Futterman, Chairman & CEO and Spencer H. Levy, Associate of RKF, along with Lyle Stern of the Koniver Stern Group, represented Mr. Chow in the Manhattan transaction.

In addition to this new location, Mr. Chow has restaurants in Beverly Hills and Westwood, CA; Seoul, Korea; and London, England. Additional new locations will be opened in Miami, FL and Las Vegas, NV in 2007.

In another turnkey restaurant purchase, RKF represented P.J. Clarke's in a lease assignment for the 7,700-square-foot restaurant space at 44 West 63rd Street in the Empire Hotel from Iridum.

The space, which encompasses 5,300 s/f on the Ground Floor and 2,400 square feet in the Basement, is situated directly across Columbus Avenue from Lincoln Center and is around the corner from Rosa Mexicana. Mr. Futterman represented P.J. Clarke's in the transaction. RKF also recently secured a new location for Chef Richard Sandoval's Zengo at Gallery Place in Washington, DC.

The 8,500 s/f Asian/Fusion restaurant, which opened earlier in October, is situated at Seventh and H Streets NW, just steps from the MCI Center in the nation's capital. RKF's Robert Kinsey, Senior Director, represented Chef Richard Sandoval.

Earlier in the year, RKF secured space for Sarabeth's at 40 Central Park South in Manhattan. Located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, Sarabeth's took 6,200 square feet in the 139-unit residential building. This was the fifth Manhattan location and new flagship for the acclaimed pastry chef and restaurateur.

Sarabeth's fills a niche in the neighborhood that was previously underserved by restaurants.

The 200-seat restaurant is three times larger than its largest sibling and has made a great impact on the area.

Another restaurant transaction arranged by RKF is the turnkey restaurant purchase of Terra 47 by Mexicana Mama at East 12th Street (between Broadway & University Place) in Manhattan.

This space has 850 s/f on the Ground Floor and a full Basement. Mr. Levy represented Terra 47 and successfully renegotiated the last two years of an existing lease into a new long-term lease with landlord Howard Kaplan Antiques.

Launched in 2004 in order to meet the increased demand from its food-related retail clients, RKF's Restaurant and Food Practice Group has seen the list of acclaimed restaurant and food retailers it represents grow steadily over the past year.