The popular Broadway bar Bait Shop is officially looking for a new home. There has been some talk about this possibility for a while because, over two years ago, the owners, Mike Leifur and Jonah Bergman, were informed by their landlord, Redside Properties, that the century-old building they’ve called home for over a decade would be demolished. In its place would rise a 6-story, 121-unit apartment building with retail space on the ground floor. In December, Bait Shop “technically” lost its lease and has since been living on borrowed time, says Bergman.
Though the owners are on good terms with their landlord, who, according to Bergman, “has been very transparent” from the start, the lack of certainty has been untenable.
“From what I understand,” says Bergman over the phone, “the earliest that [construction would start] would be the first based quarter of 2027, but I think like anyone who’s gonna do any [huge] project like that, a certain equation needs to pencil in order to get the project going. And so though the demo-clause was triggered [a year ago], and it felt like doomsday when it happened, we are also free to find a good place to move.”…