Commercial
Durst Lands Southwestern Cocktail Bar at South Street Seaport
By Real Estate Wire Staff, . Real Estate Wire.
Mesa Bar, a Southwestern-inspired cocktail and wine concept, will occupy space at 220 Front Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District, Connect CRE reported. The Durst Organization announced the deal.
The bar is the project of founder Levent Cakir, an Upper West Side native whose concept, according to Connect CRE, draws on a lifelong interest in the American West. The offering will combine cocktails, wine, cold beer and a limited bar-snacks menu.
On the leasing side, Durst was represented in-house by Karen Rose, alongside Zach Nathan, Brandon Berger and Hunter Lazan of KSR. Mesa Bar was represented by Aynsley Thaler and David Green, also of KSR.
Jody Durst, President of The Durst Organization, said in a statement that "Mesa Bar brings a fresh offering to Front Street and adds to the diverse mix of dining, retail, and hospitality experiences that make the block a special part of Lower Manhattan."
The deal is a small transaction, but it fits a recognizable pattern in Lower Manhattan: landlords filling street-level space with food and beverage tenants to drive foot traffic and animate blocks that have historically gone quiet after the financial-district workday ends. The Seaport district has attracted sustained retail and hospitality investment over the past several years, and a cocktail bar with a distinct identity is exactly the kind of tenant that supports evening dwell time rather than just lunch-hour volume.
No lease terms, square footage or rent figures were disclosed. Whether Mesa Bar's opening timeline holds will depend on build-out and permitting in a historic district, where approvals can run longer than in standard commercial space.