NoHo Gains Iron Chef Despite Shrinking Market

Tuesday, 20 Aug 2013 08:19 PM

Food Network star and restaurateur Chef Bobby Flay will be closing his Flat Iron District restaurant Mesa Grill after 22 years and headed up to NoHo to open his new eatery, Gato. This marks yet another splashy gain for the “'it” neighborhood despite its ridiculously shrinking commercial realty. 

Gato is still being built and plans to serve Mediterranean and Spanish fare. It will be opening at 324 Lafayette in what is now one of the hottest but toughest neighborhoods to get into. As reported by the Observer, the NoHo/SoHo/Village areas of Manhattan are indeed the kings of tight neighborhoods and have the lowest availability right now with only about a four percent chance of snagging any choice space. 

This is not so surprising, when you consider that SoHo and the Village are celebrity havens while the recent up-and-coming NoHo neighborhood has been steadily attracting the uber-famous as well. 

We mentioned that fashion designer Phillip Lim opened his store 3.1 Phillip Lim in NoHo a few weeks ago. Apparently, he also wanted to get in on the trendy enclave before its availability shrank even more. Flay, together with Lim, will surely keep the “North of Houston Street” neighborhood on its fabulous upswing. We’re on the edge of our seats and waiting with bated breath to see who else will slip into NoHo.