Happy Corner Hospitality, which has conquered multiple Manhattan neighborhoods, will next smile on Midtown Madison Avenue.
The restaurant group founded by Charlie Levy recently opened its Miami-born, Mediterranean/Middle Eastern flagship, Motek, at 60 W. 57th St. on the throbbing southeast corner of Sixth Avenue.
And he’ll soon bring another Happy Corner brand, Yalla Motek, to 366 Madison Avenue at East 46th Street in the heart of one of city’s most prestigious commercial corridors.
Motek at 60 W. 57th happens to stand across the intersection from another popular Med/Mideast spot, Simon Oren’s Acadia on the northwest corner. Each place offers a kaleidoscopic sampling of the sunny cuisines of Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey and neighboring lands.
Motek took over the space long occupied by Rue 57, which closed 18 months ago. The proximity of Motek to Acadia doesn’t faze Levy at all.
“Each side of any Manhattan block is two different worlds,” he chuckled.
Levy understands the importance of a good lease. His blended rent for nearly 7,000 square feet on two levels is $300 per square foot — not peanuts, but a relative bargain.
He’s plugged in to public taste, too. Motek offers a crowd-pleasing array of small and large, seed oil-free dishes including mezzes, hummus dips, “street food” like crispy chicken schnitzel, garden plates, kebabs, raw and cooked fish and even beef-and-lamb steakhouse options.
The newest Motek follows the first one at always jammed 928 Broadway in Flatiron, where crowds spill onto the sidewalk, and a more recently launched second outpost at 184 Bleecker St. – the former Cafe Figaro location — in the West Village.
The next one, opening in 2027, will be at 2178 Broadway at 77th Street on the Upper West Side, replacing longtime tenant Serafina. Yet another Motek is coming to 80 N. Seventh St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Levy grew up in Israel but knows the Big Apple well.
“I lived for 25 years at Eighth Avenue and 57th Street,” he said — an experience that taught him the value of prime locations.
Levy’s empire is growing on other Manhattan fronts, as well.
His more casual spot, Yalla Motek, will open Jan. 1 at 1147 Broadway — the first of what Levy hopes will be 20 in the Big Apple.
And in another expansion, Happy Corner will roll out a new brand, Sesame Kitchen, in Battery Park.
Levy also has his eye on the Upper East Side, too – “But not yet,” he said.
“We have enough to do now.”