Nish Nush, the popular Mediterranean and vegetarian counter on the corner of Church and Reade in Tribeca, has abruptly closed, with a marshal’s notice reported on the door this week. The shutdown lands just as new building plans for the compact corner lot appear to be picking up steam.
According to Tribeca Citizen, Department of Buildings filings dated May 10 show an application for an eight‑story, 82‑foot residential building totaling about 24,680 square feet. The filing notes that excavation would not go deeper than 12 feet and that plan examiners had recorded outstanding objections. The local outlet also reports that the restaurant's online ordering appears to be down and that readers supplied a photo of a marshal’s notice at the site.
Permits Timeline And Plans
The paperwork for the corner has already shifted once. New York YIMBY reported an April 2025 filing for a nine‑story, roughly 92‑foot building that would yield about 18,000 square feet. Public property records and permit logs list the parcel as roughly 50 by 60 feet and record a "new building" filing in April 2025. Those records also show a mortgage on the site recorded in 2011 for about $3.5 million (PropertyShark).
Site History
The Landmarks Preservation Commission Tribeca South Historic District designation report records the present two‑story building as a 1952–53 construction. It also notes that the lot once extended further east and was set aside by Trinity Church as a burial ground for African‑American parishioners from 1773 to 1802. That layered history helps explain why even relatively small mid‑block projects draw close attention from neighbors and preservation reviewers.
Owner, Neighbors And What’s Next
The Nish Nush brand traces to downtown, and owner Eyal Hen is publicly associated with the Nolita restaurant 19 Cleveland, which lists Hen in its company history and ownership notes (19 Cleveland). Longtime customers have already flagged the loss on neighborhood message boards, and local reporting collected reader photos and tips for the story in Tribeca Citizen.
What happens next depends on whether the Department of Buildings clears the outstanding objections and whether a demolition permit is filed. Earlier coverage noted that no demolition permit had been reported at the time of the 2025 filings. For now, the corner's hummus counter is closed and another small retail fixture in Tribeca's streetscape has disappeared while building proposals advance.
