Shrugging off the pandemic’s impact on sales, supply and hiring, food-and-beverage uses continue to lead all retail-leasing categories in the Big Apple – …
Shrugging off the pandemic’s impact on sales, supply and hiring, food-and-beverage uses continue to lead all retail-leasing categories in the Big Apple – and the lead even grew larger over last year. We had a look at some not-yet-released CBRE data which show the extraordinary resilience of edibles and drinkables in today’s historically challenged retail-leasing market. In 2020, F&B leases comprised 28.6 percent of all retail deals in terms of number of locations, compared with 17.6 percent for runner-up apparel. The F&B square footage of 242,713 square feet handily bested 179,076 for apparel uses. Runner-up categories financial services, jewelry, cosmetics and health care lagged far behind. The data for 2021 to date show even greater F&B strength. It accounted for 31 percent of all retail deals, trailed by apparel at 17.1 percent. Although square footage wasn’t yet available, the numbers are expected to show commensurate F&B dominance over other categories. Perhaps more impressive, the category doesn’t even include grocery, convenience or wine shops. In fact, although often overlooked, F&B has been at or near the top of retail categories since CBRE first started tracking them in 2010. CBRE retail-leasing SVP Matt Chmielecki said the resiliency of F&B throughout the pandemic is all the more remarkable given that, “F&B deals can take months to negotiate.” But tenants have a very forward-looking approach. “No one’s used the term ‘new normal’ for 6 months. Now, everybody sees light at end of the tunnel,” Chmielecki said.
