Junior’s Restaurants Doubles-Down in Manhattan’s Theater District
June 11, 2017
Popular deli-diner opening second restaurant in the Times Square area
from The Wall Street Journal By Charles Passy
A waiter recently took orders at the newest location of Junior's Restaurant, at 49th and Broadway. PHOTO: ALEXANDER COHN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Since it opened in 2007, the Times Square location of Junior’s Restaurant has been a success, raking in up to $24 million in business a year, according to Alan Rosen, the Brooklyn-based company’s third-generation owner.
Now, Junior’s is hoping history repeats itself with a second location in the theater district.
A new Junior’s, seating up to 275 patrons, officially opens Wednesday at 49th Street and Broadway—a short walk from the decade-old Junior’s, which is located near 45th Street and Broadway, and also holds up to 275 people. The established Manhattan location ranks as the 15th highest-grossing independent restaurant in the country, according to Restaurant Business, a trade publication.
It is something of a bold move for the 66-year-old company, whose restaurants, including its flagship location in downtown Brooklyn, have been beloved by generations of New Yorkers and visitors alike. The company largely is known for cheesecakes and diner and deli-style fare that Mr. Rosen calls “Brooklyn comfort food.”
Typically, restaurant companies try to spread themselves throughout a city, so as not to cannibalize an individual location’s business. But Mr. Rosen says he was so drawn to his new location—a high-traffic area near theaters, hotels and office buildings—that he didn’t worry about the proximity to the other Junior’s.
“How could you say no to 49th and Broadway?” asked Mr. Rosen of the 8,700-square-foot spot, which previously housed the pan-Asian restaurant Ruby Foo’s.
It cost $9 million to create the new Junior’s, which is decorated in an orange-hued retro theme, Mr. Rosen said.
His bet could pay off, said Stephen Zagor, dean of culinary business and industry studies at the Institute of Culinary Education. The city is so densely packed that a restaurant company need not be bound by conventional rules concerning spacing out locations, he explained. “In New York, there are lots of micro markets,” he noted.
Either way, the new Junior’s is part of an ambitious expansion plan. Mr. Rosen says his company hopes to open one to three new locations annually and is looking beyond New York. Last October, the company opened a Junior’s Restaurant in Boca Raton, Fla.
The company is on track to increase its annual sales by about 40% to $100 million in 2017, according to Mr. Rosen. The business has grown beyond restaurants: Junior’s sells its cheesecakes through retailers and direct to consumers via its website.
Still, some things never change when it comes to Junior’s. Mr. Rosen said with all the growth over the years, the two most popular varieties of his cheesecake remain the same: plain and strawberry.
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