Restoration Hardware May Take Over Pastis Building

Restoration Hardware recently filed a document with the city that indicates it will take over the lease of the entire building that until recently held Pastis. Although the owner of the building still tells DNAinfo that "we don't know yet" who the tenant will be, the home goods company did file a memorandum of lease—a document outlining the terms of a lease agreement—with the city last week. Assuming Restoration Hardware does take over, it's still not clear whether that lease would stand in the way of Pastis reopening when the building's renovations are complete, as Keith McNally still promises it will. The news does, however, reignite a bizarre rumor that circulated when Pastis was preparing to close back in February.

Just days before Pastis went on hiatus, the blog Thirsty NYC floated a rumor that McNally's pioneering Meatpacking District restaurant would be replaced by a "Restoration Hardware Hotel." That rumor was quickly dispelled, both by McNally and the fact that it sounded like a bad joke. And at the moment, Restoration Hardware only operates normal retail stores.

However, shortly after those hotel rumors were squashed, Restoration Hardware's CEO told Businessweek that he plans to open massive new stores in wealthy cities that include "wine bars and restaurants, performance spaces, courtyards, and rooftop gardens." He also said he wants to open something called an "RH guesthouse" in Manhattan by 2016.

The long-debated metal and glass addition to the top of the 9th Avenue building also finally got approved this week. That new construction also would not necessarily interfere with Pastis' return, but the designer tells DNAinfo that it's intended to be one large retail store, which could potentially become a restaurant. Meanwhile, rumors continue to circulate that Pastis will move, either to the Beekman Hotel or to the P.J. Clarke's space at Brookfield Place.
· Restoration Hardware May Be Coming to Pastis Building [DNAinfo]
· Restoration Hardware CEO's Luxury Ambitions [Businessweek]
· Pastis Building's Revised Topper Woos Landmarks [Curbed NY]
· All Coverage of Pastis [~ENY~]