One of China's most popular Hunan cuisine chains just locked down a flagship perch in the heart of Manhattan's Theater District. Nong Geng Ji has signed a 9,900-square-foot retail lease at 365 West 46th Street, taking over the three-level space that formerly housed Sushi Seki along Restaurant Row in Hell's Kitchen.
The deal, reported by Commercial Observer, carries an asking rent of $55,000 per month, according to Meridian Capital Group, though the length of the lease was not disclosed. James Famularo and Kyle Fink represented Nong Geng Ji in the transaction, while Milly Cheung and Jordan Cohen of Lee & Associates NYC represented landlord Lucky 11 Group. The four-story mixed-use building sits between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, just steps from Times Square and the Theatre District.
Fink, in comments reported by Commercial Observer, called Restaurant Row one of Manhattan's most competitive dining corridors, and said Nong Geng Ji was specifically hunting for a site that could support flagship-level volume while tapping into the Theater District's steady stream of visitors. Lucky 11 Group, for its part, chose the chain in part because of how well known it already is back in China, per the same report. Nong Geng Ji says it plans to blend in local flavors alongside its famous dishes as it aims to introduce authentic Chinese cooking to both New Yorkers and out-of-town visitors.
From Shenzhen Kitchens to a Global Footprint
Nong Geng Ji was founded in Shenzhen in 2017 by master chef Guohua Feng, a native of Hengyang, Hunan, who brought more than two decades of culinary experience to the brand, according to Forbes. The chain has since expanded across China and around the world, with its first international outlet opening in Singapore in October 2023 as part of a broader wave of Chinese dining brands pushing overseas to escape intense domestic price competition, as noted by Big News Network.
That global reach includes a Canadian flagship that opened in Richmond, British Columbia, on January 1, 2025, inside a redecorated former club venue featuring traditional wooden interiors and displays of hanging cured meats and spices, according to Noms Magazine. The brand's signature stir-fried pork with abalone and chili reportedly sold more than 700,000 servings between June 2022 and late 2023, helping push Nong Geng Ji to top rankings on China's DianPing review platform in cities including Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, per the Weekender.
Flushing First, Then a Theater District Push
Nong Geng Ji made its U.S. debut on January 18, 2026, at 135-15 37th Avenue in Flushing, Queens, where it introduced Hunanese cuisine to local diners with ingredient guides and dish photos alongside its traditional menu, Forbes reports. The Manhattan lease marks a swift follow-up, moving the brand from an outer-borough entry point onto one of the city's most visible restaurant strips in under a year.
Inside, Nong Geng Ji typically designs its dining rooms around Hunan agrarian life and folk traditions, incorporating Miao silver handiwork, Jingdezhen porcelain, batik textiles, and open displays of regional spices and cured meats, per Forbes. It remains an open question how extensively that aesthetic will be layered into the Sushi Seki space's existing bones, and how the chain's notoriously spicy menu will be adjusted for broader Theater District palates.
Restaurant Row
West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues is known as Restaurant Row.
The space Nong Geng Ji is inheriting has its own layered history. The three-level, 9,900-square-foot address previously operated as Sushi Seki Times Square. The corridor also continues to draw organized foot traffic, including the Taste of Times Square street food festival, which returned to West 46th Street between Seventh and Ninth Avenues in September and shifted to a Wednesday schedule to better capture Broadway matinee and evening crowds.
