BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | Everything is coming up rhubarb at Hudson Yards — the London hospitality group that is, as opposed to the perennials used for pies.
“Rhubarb is a quintessential English vegetable,” P.B. Jacobse, CEO of the group, explained when asked about the firm’s notable name, rhubarb, which is with a lowercase “r.” The company’s founding father, he noted, “came up with it 21 years ago.”
Jacobse said this is the first international venture for the London-centric restaurant and catering company. “We’re proud to open in New York,” he told this publication by phone. “We think that Hudson Yards is very, very special.”
At 30 Hudson Yards, rhubarb will open a 5,800-square-foot restaurant on the fifth floor, as well as a “10,000-square-foot bar, restaurant and events space” on the top two floors of the 1,296-foot-tall tower, according to the press release.
“We will create something very exciting for the fifth floor and the top floor. They will be unique,” Jacobse said.
At the corner of W. 33rd St. and 10th Ave., 30 Hudson Yards, scheduled for completion in 2019, will be the second-tallest office building in NYC and will also be home to the city’s highest observation deck, according to the release. Jacobse said rhubarb will create “spectacular” and “bespoke” events for the space, which will host both private and corporate events.
The group joins an impressive list of culinary juggernauts that includes chef Thomas Keller, who is helping to “curate” the eateries at The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards.
“P.B. and rhubarb have created some of the most memorable, innovative and creative culinary events in the UK from the Royal Boxes and Jockey Club at the Royal Ascot racecourse to the Satcchi Gallery, Royal Albert Hall and Sky Garden at the ‘walkie talkie’ building,” Kenneth A. Himmel, a restaurateur who is working with Keller and Related Urban President and CEO, said in the release.
Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group — the firms developing Hudson Yards — will also have office space at 30 Hudson Yards as well as Time Warner Inc., KKR, Wells Fargo, and DNB Bank.
In addition to the Tues., Nov. 28 announcement that rhubarb would be making its first international foray at Hudson Yards, Related said luxury jewelry purveyors Cartier, Van Cleef, and Piaget would also be making a home at The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards. The retail center has 720,000 square feet of leasable space and is 70 percent committed thus far, according to the press release. It is slated to open in March 2019 along with the Vessel and the Public Square and Gardens.
Jessica Scaperotti, a spokesperson for Related, said there are no details yet where the three jewelers will be situated within the retail center and the square footage for each store. She declined to say how long and for how much the leases were, saying that the company does not release information on leases.
In September, Neiman Marcus, the Dallas-based, high-end clothing chain, downsized its flagship store at The Shops & Restaurants, when it was reported that the store would be 215,000 square feet. The store will be 190,000 square feet, Scaperotti said in an email. Like other retailers facing online competition, Neiman Marcus has had “declining sales for seven consecutive quarters,” The Real Deal reported. There were talks that Hudson Bay Co., owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, might buy Neiman Marcus — but those negotiations ended in June.
