Launched in Briarcliff Manor last month, The Lustig Group (TLG) is a strategic retail advisory firm rooted in the decades-long combined principal-side leasing and redevelopment experience of its founders, Justin and Nicolle Lustig.
The couple met on the first day of their first jobs out of college at DLC Management Corp. in Tarrytown. “Fast friends turned best friends turned secret cubicle romance… and the rest is history,” Justin Lustig told the Westfair Business Journal.
In their more recent history, Justin said they had first started thinking about such a business since the time of Covid. “But the real tipping point came after the birth of our third daughter (January 2024). Something about her arrival gave us the clarity and momentum to finally say, ‘Let’s do this.’ Our girls, and our soon to arrive baby boy, are the true reason we took the leap.”
The new firm advises owners and occupiers at the intersection of strategy, culture and community, each spouse bringing different but complementary strengths to the table. Nicolle Lustig specializes in high street urban retail and curated environments, like food halls and transit hubs, with a strong focus on markets like New York City and Miami’s Wynwood district. Justin thrives in leasing more traditional formats, including grocery-anchored centers, power centers, and lifestyle assets across suburban markets throughout the Northeast and Southeast.
“Somewhere in the middle is our sweet spot,” Justin said, “where we collaborate to ensure every asset is thoughtfully curated, fully activated and positioned for long-term value.”
TLG is already engaged with a roster of high-profile clients, including Riko’s Pizza, Holy Burek and Mavis Discount Tire. On the development side, they are leading the retail leasing for several ground-up mixed-use projects, including Pelham House in the village of Pelham, Briarhouse in downtown Briarcliff Manor and the repositioning of the former Bed Bath & Beyond building in Norwalk.
Although they don’t have a brick-and-mortar premises at present, that is about to change. Since moving to Briarcliff, Justin said he and Nicolle have always admired the Briarcliff Corporate Campus and have signed a lease for a corner office on the ground floor, which is being transformed into a modern co-working space by the property’s new owners, Saber Real Estate Partners.
A question the Lustigs said they get asked a lot is how does “working together” work? With Nicolle being “wildly disorganized” and Justin being “borderline OCD,” they complement each other temperamentally as well as in their division of labors. “We disagree often, especially on critical decisions, but that tension forces us to slow down, talk it out and land on a better, more thought-out path forward,” Justin said, adding, “That space between disagreement and resolution has led to some of our best decisions.”
As with most businesses, no two days are entirely the same for The Lustig Group, but a “typical” day might find Justin in Miami, scouting real estate for Mavis Discount Tire across South Florida with Nicolle planning a national rollout for an emerging brand like Holy Burek. Others, they might be reworking the retail strategy for a mixed-use development in Pelham, while in-between, they are on the phone with clients, solving problems, “putting out fires and pulling each other in where it makes sense.”
Asked how they identify potential new clients and target them, Justin said they have been fortunate to build their business organically through long-standing relationships and word of mouth. He said that thanks to their existing network, TLG’s days are often filled with conversations with landlords or tenants the group may not formally represent, but those touchpoints often lead to deeper discussions and new opportunities. He said that one of the most rewarding aspects of the industry is that it is extremely collaborative. “Most of us genuinely want to see each other succeed, so referrals happen naturally based on who is best suited to support a tenant or landlord.”
When we put it to the Lustigs that TLG’s stated aim, as per their mission statement, of “elevating communities to national recognition” seemed progressive, even ambitious, given that in most neighborhoods “locals shop local,” Justin countered that while that sentiment was real and powerful, it was not always enough to sustain long-term growth for local tenants or small landlords.
“We are firm believers that if you are not growing, you are falling behind,” he said.
