The Pride ribbons will be out next month at one of Hell’s Kitchen’s oldest gay bars, Ritz Bar & Lounge — but perhaps for the last time, because the venue is up for sale.
The entire four-story building that houses the bar on Restaurant Row (W46st St bw 8th & 9th Ave) is listed for $6.5 million by celebrity real estate firm Serhant, headed by Ryan Serhant of reality TV fame. The sales process was launched with an Open House at the club last weekend.
The building and bar are both currently co-owned by Tommy Greco and his business partner Jimmy Glenn. They are considering the possibility of staying on as commercial tenants and bar owners. Greco said that he is “casting a wide net” to see what opportunities come up.
“If they want to buy the business or buy the building, or some combination of that — we are open,” he said. “It depends on who comes in. If they want to keep us on as a commercial tenant, or if they want the building free and clear, we are open to that.”
But it will be business as usual as Pride Month approaches. “We will be hanging out our ribbons next week, but we know that this will likely be our last Pride at the space,” said Greco. “The building has not just been the club for me and my business partner Jimmy, it’s our home as well. I mean, it’s not like we had tenants. It’s my apartment and his apartment. My suits are still hanging in the closet and my first kid was born there.”
Greco, who recently closed his neighborhood steakhouse K Rico after almost 10 years in business, was 29 when he opened Ritz nearly two decades ago in a space that had previously been home to a comedy club. A straight man, he recalled in a recent interview that initially “when the other tenants on Restaurant Row found out it was going to be a gay bar, they lost their minds!” But later on, “It’s amazing how quickly they turned around when — all of a sudden — hundreds of beautiful, wealthy gay men were hitting their restaurants before going to The Ritz.”
A more somber memory of The Ritz was as backdrop for a candlelit vigil for Julio Ramirez in June 2022. Ramirez was last seen leaving the bar before his death.
The sale is a full-circle moment for Bernadette Brennan, Managing Director of Serhant Commercial, who two decades ago helped owner Greco open Ritz when she worked in the entertainment industry. She’s listing the property alongside agents Jade Shenker, Issy Leiter, and Madison Sutton.
“We have a few buyers right now that are engaging because of its legacy and how iconic it is,” Brennan told W42ST. “We’ll see where it’s going to end up, if it’s going to be the Ritz or a new version — or something new that someone else has in mind.”
The property, described by Brennan as “a piece of New York history,” has a total area of 4,709 square feet and includes two “free-market residential units.” The listing calls it “a unique investment opportunity [that] offers a rare combination of residential and commercial potential in one of Manhattan’s most dynamic neighborhoods.”
The Ritz has two dance floors and three bars, a cabaret license and 4am liquor license and over the years has attracted a number of A-list celebrities, including Lady Gaga, Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Andy Cohen.
The sale kicked off last week with an open house that featured “a bunch of industry royalty that’s chatting with us in pursuit of possibly being a purchaser,” Brennan said.
Also in attendance was ‘superstar’ broker Ryan Serhant, formerly a star of MillionDollar Listing: New York. He will lead Netflix’s forthcoming real estate series Owning Manhattan, which, as the New York Post reported, “gives a look inside the glamorous, adrenaline-filled universe of high-stakes real estate in New York City.”
The show may well feature some Hell’s Kitchen properties, including the building at 589 11th Avenue, home since 1996 to McQuaid’s Pub, that Serhant sold. There’s even a chance that Ritz could be featured, said Brennan.
Willing to stay on as tenants!?
Take the money and run…..
The busier you are in this business these days, the more it costs.
I wish I could get out!
(Stuck with the personal guarantee’d leases!)
Good luck. You’ve done your time!
Tommy has been an incredible neighborhood guy. As a businessman always giving back.
I was sad to see us lose K-Rico and sad to possibly lose Tommy as a local owner should things turn out that way.
But he deserves to get out of what has become a headache as a Hell’s Kitchen business owner.
Best of luck Greco!!