By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — The owner of Lobel's of New York, the high-end butcher that's been providing fine meats to the Upper East Side's elite tongues since 1840, paid a pretty penny to buy a retail condo nearly 200 feet from his Madison Avenue shop that will likely one day be part of its expanded meat empire.
Stanley Lobel paid $1.75 million — roughly $4,471 per square foot — for the multi-level retail condo at 1086 Madison Ave., between 81st and 82nd streets, according to last week's announcement from Prudential Douglas Elliman brokers Faith Hope Consolo and Joseph Aquino.
It's one of the highest amounts ever paid for a retail condominium on the Upper East Side, they said.
Lobel immediately rented the space, which has 400 feet on the ground level, a 100-square-foot mezzanine and a 700-square-foot basement, to a luxury ladies fashion and pocketbook shop.
But he told DNAinfo he does have eventual plans for it to be the "future home" of Lobel's.
"I paid a lot for it and I still have a smile on my face," Lobel said. "I do own two other properties almost adjacent to it, so there's some method behind my madness."
Consolo said that many were interested in this "rarefied corridor" in the city's "most affluent family neighborhood," but that Lobel, whose family has been around for five generations, had the edge.
"Our buyer's family business has been a significant presence on this exclusive avenue for more than half a century, so he immediately understood the value of the location," Consolo said in a statement. "We had several offers, in fact, but Mr. Lobel seized the moment and won."
Lobel acknowledged his appreciation for the location.
"We are committed to Madison Avenue and we are committed to quality," he said.
While some retailers may have had a tough winter because of the snow, Lobel's — which began serving customers nationwide 10 years ago — hasn't suffered.
"When the weather is bad, we flourish because we deliver," Lobel said.
Plus, people sometimes have even more of a hankering for meat in cold weather.
"It's filling, especially when it's good," he added.
