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New York & Tri-State  + Midtown New York  + Hospitality  |  October 28, 2025
Paul Bubny
By: Paul Bubny

ESRT Signs Japanese Restaurant Concept to One Grand Central Place

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (ESRT) signed a new lease with SORA, a Japanese omakase-style restaurant concept, for a 14,430-square-foot retail space at One Grand Central Place, 60 E. 42nd St. in Midtown Manhattan. Developed by publicly traded Round1 Corporation, SORA will feature five high-end dining concepts curated by top chefs selected from Japan’s highest-rated establishments, and one direct-from-Tokyo cocktail experience.

“SORA’s innovative omakase dining concept builds on the Grand Central District’s new, top food destinations and its top tier tenants,” said Fred C. Posniak, SVP, leasing at ESRT.

SORA will join ESRT’s high quality roster of retailers, which includes Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, Blue Bottle Coffee, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Charles Schwab, and Federal Express at One Grand Central Place. Robert Bonicoro and Betsy DaSilva of CBRE represented SORA in the lease negotiations. Kenji Ota & Neil Seth of Cushman & Wakefield and Posniak & Alec Stone of ESRT represented the property owner.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).
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