The site of Williamsburg's famed Wythe Diner has sold

New York Post

6 days ago

The site of Williamsburg's iconic '50s-style diner on Wythe Avenue — a longtime lodestar in one of the neighborhood's hippest corners — has officially traded hands for $12.5 million.
The large corner lot, historically occupied by the steel frame of the shuttered Wythe Diner, is set to host a six-story mixed-use building. City records posted on Thursday confirmed the long-awaited sale.
The $12.5 million deal closes a colorful chapter for the property, during which it lived many lives — as a classic railcar diner, a Mexican eatery, a coffee shop and even a Chanel pop-up.
5 The former Wythe Diner, located at the intersection of North 3rd Street.
Google Earth
5 The steel structure has dominated the site since the 1950s.
Eilon Paz
The development is expected to include 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and 28 apartments above, according to a press release shared with The Post by commercial real estate brokerage TerraCRG. Plans to preserve the eye-catching prefab structure elsewhere will be announced in about a month.
'All parties collaborated thoughtfully to ensure the relocation and preservation of the vintage diner car, which is scheduled for removal post-closing,' the statement said.
TerraCRG represented the property's former owner, Sandy Stillman, in the sale.
Stillman operated the iconic diner Relish at the site from the late '90s to around 2010. She held on to the property through its many retail evolutions.
'What an amazing experience it was to serve this beauteous community in this sculpture of a restaurant with so much outdoor space in the early days of the BK food revolution, when it seemed as though nearly all customers were talking about art,' Stillman said in the statement.
5 The interior of the diner during its tenure as La Esquina, a Mexican restaurant.
Eilon Paz
5 The site transformed into a pastel-covered confection in 2023 for a Chanel fragrance pop-up.
Chanel
5 The vacant property will become a six-story development.
Google Earth
Stillman praised the buyers 'above and beyond spiritual beauty, talent and desire to help save this shiny diner.'
The shiny shell arrived at the intersection of Williamsburg's North 3rd Street in the 1950s. Wythe Diner remained in operation until the late 1980s. The property, including the 2,800-square-foot prefab, sold to Stillman in 1998.
Under Stillman's ownership, the site hosted the Mexican eatery Cafe De La Esquina, a Blank Street coffee shop and a colorful Chanel fragrance pop-up for fall Fashion Week in 2023.
A report in early July by Crain's New York detailed Williamsburg-based developer Yoel Schwimmer's prospective plans to transform the site into a roughly 24,600-square-foot building. The new owner of the Wythe Avenue corner shares an address with Schwimmer's OVV LLC, so it appears that Schwimmer's plans are moving forward.
The final $12.5 million deal was brokered by Andrew Manasia and Daniel Lebor at TerraCRG. Schwimmer could not be reached for comment by press time.