New Time Warner Eatery Open from 7:00am - 2:00am

[NYPost] 8/22/06
When Related Cos. honcho Kenneth Himmel launched Time Warner Center's galleria in 2003, some brokers sniffed that New Yorkers wouldn't shop or dine in a mall.

That view now seems quaint. The 350,000 square-foot atrium is thriving. The only weak spot was the third- and fourth-floor restaurants; V Steakhouse closed, Charlie Trotter backed out of a deal, and Bouchon Bakery took a long time to open - leaving the place to pricey Café Gray and ultra-pricey Per Se and Masa.
But Michael Lomonaco's new Porter House (where V was), due by October, and chef/owner Marc Murphy's Landmarc, planned for spring, will change all that. Landmarc especially will liven up the joint with service from morning until the wee hours.
"Landmarc's popular price point will complement Time Warner's existing group of eateries," said Lansco honcho Alan Victor, who represented Landmarc with Lansco's Tom Duke.
Landmarc leased 10,630 square feet. Murphy would not comment on terms, but asking rents on the third floor are $100 to $150 a foot.
Murphy said his new place, a grander version of his popular TriBeCa original, will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. "Even before we got going with the lease, I already had my design team working to see if I could get enough people in there," to justify the long opening hours.
Murphy concluded his moderately priced, 270-seater is just what Time Warner Center and the neighborhood need.
He said he was recently looking through the windows with Related Cos. suits when one of them jokingly apologized for the fact that the new 15 Central Park West condo would block the restaurant's view of the park.
"I said, 'Hey, are you kidding - I'm getting 3,000 more customers,' " Murphy recalled.
Lansco, along with the Auber Group, also negotiated the galleria's first replacement for an existing tenant - fashion retailer Bebe's impending move into 6,764 square feet previously occupied by Joseph Abboud.
Victor said Abboud wanted out of its lease, but, "The only way Related was going to let us off hook was if we came up with an acceptable replacement tenant." Asking rents on the galleria's main floor run as high as $350 a foot.