DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — The owner of Junior's decided not to sell the two-story building that houses the famed Brooklyn cheesecake shop — despite offers of $45 million in cash.
Alan Rosen, whose family has owned the restaurant since it opened in 1950, put the building on the market earlier this year and said he received several record-setting offers.
But he had a change of heart after "after much soul-searching" and decided that no price was worth giving up Junior's flagship location, the New York Times first reported.
"When you love something and you start to go through the process of giving it up it really makes you realize what's important to you," Rosen told DNAinfo. "This is more than a restaurant: it's our roots, tradition and heritage and it is just not sellable"
"I have never felt better in my life."
Rosen said the decision to sell the building was never completely intentional to begin with.
"We kept getting unsolicited offers from developers," he said. "And the offers just kept getting bigger and bigger."
He decided to get professional help and hired Robert Knakal, of Massey Knakal Realty Services, to broker a deal. But the highest bids would not allow Junior's to take over the ground floor and other lower-level bids would require the restaurant to close for two years for construction.
"I just couldn't do that to the employees," he said of the 175 people who work at Junior's in Brooklyn as well as the community itself.
After news of the potential sale spread, customers began to recount stories about first dates, graduations, engagements and other special moments that took place in the restaurant.
"I can't tell you what it all means to me without crying," he said.
Rosen said he has no plans to put the building back on the market for the foreseeable future.
"This year we celebrate our 64th anniversary," he said. "And I hope we have 64 more after that."
