A burger spot and a medical spa have locked in new retail leases along the same stretch of East 13th Street near Union Square, giving the neighborhood's retail comeback another small but noticeable lift. The side-street deals add fresh dining and wellness options to a block landlords have been refilling with tenants designed to pull in steady daytime and weekend foot traffic.
New Deals On East 13th Street
According to Crain's New York Business, the restaurant Moja has taken roughly 3,200 square feet at 39 E. 13th St., and a medical-spa operator has signed a separate lease on the same block. The Crain's story, published July 16, 2026, spells out Moja's address and square footage but does not identify the spa tenant or provide an opening timeline for either business.
How This Fits The Union Square Comeback
Storefront occupancy around Union Square has been on the upswing. The district is already about 91 percent full, and REBNY points to food, fitness and wellness as the categories leading leasing activity in corridors like Union Square. That broader momentum helps explain why landlords are backfilling nearby blocks with tenants expected to draw mid-day and evening crowds.
Why Food And Wellness Keep Getting The Keys
Brokers say mid-sized restaurant spaces and wellness operators can stabilize a retail block by drawing both workers and weekend visitors, and Moja's roughly 3,200-square-foot lease suggests something larger than a simple counter setup meant to help anchor the street. The Union Square Partnership's 2025 Commercial Market Report also highlights rising visits and lower office vacancy in the neighborhood, trends that landlords and brokers cite when deciding which tenants fit this corridor. Operators in these categories tend to generate predictable traffic patterns that help support neighboring small businesses.
The Crain's coverage did not include build-out timetables, landlord names or projected opening dates for either tenant, leaving the timing for new doors to open tied to permits and construction schedules, as noted in the piece. We will be watching filings and local reports for updates.
