SoHo's longtime seafood hangout Lure Fishbar is not going anywhere, at least not for a while. A new sublease deal has pulled the Mercer Street basement restaurant back from the brink of a Prada takeover, with owner John McDonald saying the pact effectively puts Lure on a long-term sublease and wipes out any immediate threat. The dining room and raw bar are staying open while the lawyers finish the paperwork.
As reported by the New York Post, Prada, which leases space at 575 Broadway from art collector Peter Brant, has agreed to sublease Lure's basement back to McDonald. The Post notes that Prada occupies roughly 20,000 square feet in the building, while Lure's subterranean footprint comes in at about 5,000 square feet.
How the deal came together
The standoff started bubbling in late 2024, when reports surfaced that Prada was eyeing Lure's cellar for an outpost of Pasticceria Marchesi and McDonald warned that his lease would end in mid-2026. Eater NY first laid out that timeline, and property filings and financing notices have long shown Prada as a marquee tenant at 575 Broadway. A property briefing from PR Newswire also highlights the building's longstanding relationship with the fashion label.
Why SoHo is watching
According to the restaurant's website, Lure opened in 2004 and grew into a neighborhood anchor, with a busy oyster bar, late-night energy, and a regular flow of celebrities slipping into its booth-lined basement. Coverage in outlets including luxury retail pressure on local spots framed the possible replacement of Lure as a familiar SoHo story: high-end retail turning the screws on longtime businesses.
McDonald told the New York Post, "essentially, we are now on a long-term sublease," and added that "they are leaving us alone and there are no plans for a prada café," language that suggests Lure's footprint will be left intact while the legal details are wrapped up. The Post also reports that Prada could not immediately be reached for comment.
For now, regulars and neighbors can expect business as usual at 142 Mercer: oysters at the bar, late dinners, and the kind of service that turned Lure into a SoHo fixture over the past two decades. If anything changes in a meaningful way, whether through new paperwork, a renovation, or a revised tenancy plan, local coverage will be watching.
