NYC restaurateur cancels expansion plans following Mamdani victory:

NYC restaurateur cancels expansion plans following Mamdani victory:

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s radical coverage proposals have prompted high-profile restaurateur Stratis Morfogen to cancel plans to open new companies.

He told Side Dish he’s pulling the plug on three new institutions, including one in Midtown West. 

“I waited for the election before signing and now I’m not signing,” he said.

Stratis Morfogen told Side Dish he’s pulling the plug on three new institutions, including one in Midtown West.  Matthew McDermott

Just last week, Morfogen opened his first restaurant in Miami. The eatery, called Brooklyn Chop House Miami, boasts 400 seats and has a rooftop bar overlooking the skyline in the Moxy Hotel in Wynwood.

“I’m not signing any more leases in New York,” Morfogen vowed. “I’ll preserve what I’ve. We’re not increasing in New York however we’re pursuing additional alternatives in Miami and other cities.

“We just don’t feel that this mayor is suitable to supporting small businesses.”

Veteran restaurateur and nightlife guru Richie Romero had the same response to Mamdani’s beautiful defeat of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an impartial, and Republican Curtis Sliwa earlier this month.

Romero has put a halt on new openings aside from a new East Village outpost of Sushi By Bou, for which building started months before the election.

“We want to wait and see what [Mamdani] does. His radical changes scare the s–t out of small business owners,” Morfogen said. Getty Images

“The hatred of Jews, socialism, the economics – it’s too much,” he said of Mamdani. “I had to be vocal. I get attacked, but it is what it is.”

Romero, who hosted fundraising occasions for Cuomo, said he’s launching a coalition “to fight socialism” that is still in the works. 

Instead of betting on New York, the lifelong New Yorker is opening 12 to fifteen ideas exterior the metropolis in secondary markets — from Atlanta and Dallas to West Palm, Fla.

Just last week, Morfogen opened his first restaurant in Miami, above. Brooklyn Chop House

The eatery, called Brooklyn Chop House Miami, boasts 400 seats. Brooklyn Chop House

Morfogen said he opted never to signal a lease for an all-but-completed deal for a new restaurant at West thirty second Street and tenth Avenue. He also put the brakes on signing leases for new diners on the Upper East Side, at East 62nd Street and First Avenue, and on the fringe of the Upper West Side. 

“I am not signing any leases now,” Morfogen declared. “We want to wait and see what [Mamdani] does. His radical changes scare the s–t out of small business owners.”

The mayor-elect’s proposal to boost the metropolis’s minimal wage to $30 by 2030 will “put fast-casual out of business,” Morfogen predicted. 

Restaurateur Richie Romero has put a halt on new openings aside from a new East Village outpost of Sushi By Bou, for which building started months before the election. Stephen Yang

“There won’t be any more diners for $25 a person if a $12 burger goes up to $22,” he said. “We will still have to pay our rent and our profit margin — at 10% — is too thin to survive.” 

He is also frightened about public security under Mamdani, an ardent critic of the NYPD.

It’s private for Morfogen, who said unlawful immigrants have assaulted members of his household in recent times, main one among the victims to be hospitalized.

“I have had enough. I love New York City and even after all the destruction with Cuomo during COVID, I was forced to vote for him because anything is better than a socialist communist with insane, anti-small business policies,” Morfogen said. 

Romero’s Sushi By Bou in Chelsea, above. Romero said he’s launching a coalition “to fight socialism.” Hassan Mokaddam

“I can’t believe that New York City, a city I love and where I grew up, voted him in. I’m not sure I recognize this city anymore,” said the restaurateur, whose dad was a Dem.

“This is not the Democratic city that my father loved. [Former Gov.] Mario Cuomo is turning in his grave seeing what the Democratic Party has become.” 

He said the streets don’t really feel secure close to his 24-hour Gramercy Park diner, called Diner24.

“Thank God we have a police station a block away. Can you imagine if [Mamdani] defunds the police? It’s insanity, and the message that is even being considered gives criminals a lot of confidence that they can get away with things,” Morfogen said.

Romero said he’s opening 12 to fifteen ideas exterior the metropolis in secondary markets — from Atlanta and Dallas to West Palm, Fla. Adrien Mueller

Mamdani’s anti-business proposals like taxing the wealthy and opening publicly-run grocery shops angered Romero, too.

“You see 30 to 40% of vacant storefronts now,” he said. “How do you suggest that someone who is not pro business will make it get better?” 

Not everybody agrees. Restaurateur Mark Bucher, who co-owns Medium Rare eating places in 9 cities including the Big Apple, said he’s “always bullish on New York City” and plans to open a new outpost in Manhattan next 12 months.

But Romero said his main curiosity in the metropolis is for promotional functions, not being profitable.

“New York is a showcase — like Fifth Avenue,” he said. “It’s better to open in West Palm, Dallas and Nashville, where they are more business friendly. It’s impossible to make money here.”

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