Din Tai Fung, a Michelin-starred global eatery from Taiwan, is opening its second East Coast location, also in New York, after its sales receipts were said to make it the highest-grossing restaurant chain per location in the United States.
The internationally acclaimed restaurant, famous for its handcrafted xiaolongbao soup dumplings, plans its newest store at the Brook, a luxury apartment tower in downtown Brooklyn, development partners Witkoff Group and Apollo Global Management said in a statement. The location, spanning 20,000 square feet, is slated to open in 2027.
A spokesperson for the Brook declined to specify details of the rent terms.
Din Tai Fung in July last year opened its first East Coast location at 1633 Broadway between 50th and 51st streets just north of Times Square after having signed a 15-year lease spanning 26,400 square feet, the chain’s largest globally. Din Tai Fung, founded in 1958 originally as a cooking oil retail business in Taipei before transitioning in 1972 to becoming a full-fledged restaurant specializing in soup dumplings and noodles, has been expanding its footprint globally, entering the United States in 2000 with a California debut. In May, it opened its first Canadian space in Vancouver.
Din Tai Fung has 165 restaurants worldwide, including 18 in North America, the development partners said, adding the chain serves more than 7 million customers every year.
The popular restaurant was the top-grossing U.S. restaurant per location last year with an average of $27 million in annual sales among 1,500 restaurant chains with five or more locations tracked by Technomic. The market research firm also said Din Tai Fung’s average annual sales per location more than doubled that of the $12.4 million generated by The Cheesecake Factory.
Din Tai Fung didn’t immediately respond to a CoStar News request seeking comment on its expansion plan.
The Brook, completed this year, began leasing in June before July move-ins, the property spokesperson said, adding pricing starts at $3,870 for a studio to $9,525 for a two-bedroom apartment. The building also includes affordable housing units.
The 591-unit tower spans about 600,000 square feet, CoStar data shows. Amenities include an outdoor pool, a basketball court and a dog spa.
The market asking rent in downtown Brooklyn has reached a record high of $4,637, topping the New York average of $3,353, according to CoStar data.
For the record
Ben Birnbaum at Newmark represented the tenant, and Chris DeCrosta at Goodspace represented the landlord in the lease deal.