Two New Restaurants Will Revive Long Vacant Building in Mamaroneck

Though empty storefronts on Mamaroneck Avenue seem like something of a novelty, one newly constructed building anchoring the end of the avenue had remained vacant for almost 2 ½ years.

Soon, however, 448 Mamaroneck Ave. will be showing signs of life, with two new restaurants set to occupy a sizable portion of the nearly 8,000 square foot building.

According to building owner John Manouselis, Cherry Tree Frozen Yogurt signed a 10-year lease last September and will be occupying 1,200 square feet on the first floor of the building beginning July 1.

Right next door to Cherry Tree—occupying 2,400 square feet of space—will be the Denver, CO-based Smashburger chain, who signed a 20-year lease last August.  The company known for their method of cooking Angus Beef meatballs by smashing them into patties with a steel paddle, will move in on July 15.

Currently, the building’s only tenant is Keller Eaton Architects, who moved from their previous location at 510 W. Boston Post Rd. to the cylindrical shaped building at the beginning of April.

Despite being caught at the tail end of a , Manouselis was always looking for the right mix of businesses and “turned down a lot of tenants” including a few pizza and Asian restaurants that he believed Mamaroneck Avenue was “saturated with.”

Another deal failed to materialize.

“We had a deal with a bank that then backed out,” he said.

As for the remaining 1,800 square feet of available space, Manouselis is currently speaking with a bond trader who has shown interest in the space, although nothing has yet been solidified.

From the village's perspective, however, the need for increased parking in the area may be an issue that needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.

"Like a double edged sword this is a very positive occurrence for the Village of Mamaroneck," said Mayor Norman Rosenblum, continuing, "This obviously adds an other element to the VOM as a destination point while adding more pressure to the needed increased parking availability."

Further, the mayor added, an ad hoc Parking Facility and Parking Policy Committee has already met several times to discuss possibly utilzing VOM-owned parking lots located behind the movie theater and on Spencer Place.

"The viability and continued future success of the VOM demands this coordinated review and implementation of support infrastructure," said Rosenblum.