A new eatery appears to be opening on the Upper East Side, but it’s brought with it a big bowl of confusion.
The space at 1453 York Avenue on the corner of 77th Street – formerly home to York Avenue Kitchen – is covered in ketchup and mustard-colored signage announcing that “after 4 years,” GRUBBS will be “coming soon,” while also acknowledging that, since it has been four years, “who knows if we will be opening soon.”
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According to Jersey Digs, Grubbs had already secured the York Avenue space in January 2020, according to the food company’s website at the time. Unlucky timing, to say the least.
A Google listing for the forthcoming business leads to grubbstakeaway.com, and that website says there’s currently one location open in Hoboken. But when we reached out to the Hoboken outpost, we were told the Upper East Side location is not affiliated with them, and they had no idea when it would open or who would even be managing it.
Nevertheless, if the menus are similar, expect an array of American fast food staples like sandwiches, wraps, burgers and milkshakes.
In October 2020, Real Estate Weekly reported on Grubbs’ major ambitions to “eat up some 30,000 s/f of New York City retail space as part of a plan to build its customer base during an unprecedented boom in take-out and delivery.”
“With the COVID pandemic wreaking havoc across the retail sector, Mitchell – who already operates Grubbs Take Away in Hoboken and Jersey City – has been negotiating new terms with property owners that include a discount on pre-COVID rents, payment step ups for the first few years, extended free time and caveats providing reduced rent in the event of future shutdowns,” the publication wrote.
But it doesn’t seem like those plans really came into fruition.
While the business did sign a lease at 287 Seventh Avenue in Chelsea during 2020, it appears to have closed by early 2022. And it looks like another location in the Financial District opened in September 2022 and closed earlier this year.
Overall, reviews have not been great.
Grubbs Takeaway was originally founded by Ian Mitchell, a “British-born former airline worker” who according to Real Estate Weekly “built [his] own delivery platform with a focus on hyper-local business.”
We’ve left a voicemail on the phone number listed on the UES Grubbs Google page.
Thanks for the helpful reporting, but I doubt there is any kind of “whirlwind” over yet-another UES fast-food joint.