Raymour to fill Fortunoff vacancy
The ghost of the long-vacant White Plains Fortunoff will be less of a haunt when a 58,000-square-foot Raymour & Flanigan Furniture store comes to town this spring.
Construction will begin “any day now” on the second floor of the site of its predecessor, said Issie Shait, senior vice president of property management at New England Development, the Massachusetts-based property manager of The Source retail operation at Bloomingdale Road and Maple Avenue.
“The plan is for Dick”™s (Sporting Goods) and Raymour to open sometime in April,” he said.
Dick”™s Sporting Goods last fall signed a lease for the 55,000-square-foot first floor of the Fortunoff building, which sat empty since May 2009 after the fine jewelry and home furnishings retailer filed for bankruptcy.
“Fortunoff went out during one of the worst recessions,” Shait said.
There were multiple negotiations and interested tenants who weren”™t ready to move at the time. “It”™s the economy,” he said. “The past few years have been tough.”
But there is fluidity. Forest City Ratner”™s Ridge Hill in Yonkers recently signed six new tenants including Dick”™s Sporting Goods and the already committed Cheesecake Factory, which operates another location at The Source in White Plains.
“Stores and chains are looking for good opportunities,” Shait said. “Westchester is certainly a great market. For the right tenants, there is room for multiple locations.”
New eatery in Dobbs Ferry
Harper”™s Bar & Restaurant has opened in the former site of Mimosa on Main Street in Dobbs Ferry.
Gerry Houlihan of Houlihan Business Brokers arranged the sale of the 75-seat restaurant to owners Chris Vergara and Justin Montgomery.
The restaurant will feature contemporary American fare crafted by Vergara, a chef who owns Meritage Restaurant in Scarsdale. Montgomery has 15 years of restaurant management experience.
“The rivertowns are receiving a lot of interest from up-and-coming chefs and restaurateurs,” said Houlihan, who has arranged leases for hotspots The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry and Red Hat on the River in Irvington. “The market conditions in that area lend themselves to a creative restaurant climate. I think this area”™s potential is far from its peak.”
Contemporary apparel in Rye Brook
Indigo Chic Boutique, a retailer of affordable, contemporary women”™s apparel, shoes and accessories, has opened at The Rye Ridge Shopping Center in Rye Brook.
There are multiple store locations in Hartsdale, New City and Cold Spring.
Other retail locations at the Win Properties development include: Z-Life Denim Lounge, Dusty Rose, & Co., All Dressed Up, The Look and Ridge Squire.
Newer Rye Ridge tenants include Chipotle Mexican Grill and Buddha Sushi, which is undergoing extensive construction and build-out.
