After 90 years of serving delicious hot dogs and fresh tropical fruit drinks, Big Apple's final papaya king is now facing permanent asylum.
DeveloperExtell– BuildCentral Park Towerin “Billionaire's Row” and other apartment and office complexes throughout Big Apple – Low-rise upper The East Side building that Papaya King has called the flagship store since its opening in 1932.
Records show that a subsidiary of Extell bought the property for $ 21 million last December.
On Tuesday, I submitted to the City's Building Department documents to destroy the remaining buildings on Papaya King and East 86th and 3rd Avenues.
Extell refused to reveal the site's plans, but Papaya King's customers were hungry after learning that the era of their beloved fast food chain could be counted. I said that.
"It's sad to see it work," said Janet Sarano, 63, of Bronx, who had been eating at Papaya King since childhood.
"People love this place. It's better than Nathan and definitely better than a street dog."
Newlyweds Arnella and Christoph Rider of Germany stop by on their newly-married trip on Friday, and they are shocked to hear the news. Received.
"I've heard about this place on various blogs and YouTube videos, but hot dogs are really good," said 28-year-old Arnella. "It's an interesting combination with sweet and tasty."
"Don't shut down. Christoph, 32.
Papaya King is the late Constantine" Gas "of Greek immigrants. Founded and operated by Prus for many years.
Initially, we only offered fruit drinks. , Immediately expanded to hot dogs and other meals. The business thrived despite the onslaught of competition forfrom companies of the same name, such as Gray's Papaya and Papaya Kingdom.
Papaya King has opened other outposts such as Hollywood, East Village, Downtown Brooklyn, and Long Island, but all have since been closed. The Poulus family sold Papaya King in 1997.
Mohamed Alam, manager of Papaya King, said the fast food chain was hit hard by the pandemic and hopes he doesn't have to find a new gig after working for the company for 20 years.
"There were other places, but pandemic." He said. "There's only this left. When this is done, I have no choice and I have to look for another job. What can I do?"
Papaya King has the right to stay in the flagship store We are in the midst of a nasty legal dispute over.
Former landlord Imperial Sterling Ltd. ended its papaya king lease in 2020, and chain management company Grab&broke into the site and continued to operate papaya king without permission. I filed a lawsuit as. The record shows.
As the new owner of the property, Extell is actively pursuing the case and wants the judge to close Papaya King. The latest twist of Wiener sellers was first reportedPatch.com.
However, Grab's lawyer&alleged to the court that Imperial Sterling was not authorized to sell the building because he had only 50% ownership.