The original East Village outpost of confectionery chain Milk Bar has closed for good after 17 years in business.
Christina Tosi, formerly a chef at David Chang’s Momofuku restaurant and a Crain’s 40 under 40 honoree in 2016, opened the first Milk Bar on the ground floor of 251 E. 13th St. in 2008. The dessert shop, known for its social-media-famous birthday cake topped with funfetti truffles and cereal-inspired ice cream, has since expanded to locations all over the country and is available in retailers nationwide.
The store has apparently been closed since January, which the company said at the time was due to renovations, but it’s now shuttered for good, according to local blog EV Grieve, which first reported the closure.
There are still six other shops in the city, including in Williamsburg and on the Upper West Side. A representative for the dessert company told Eater that its lease had expired and it decided not to renew.
Tosi did not respond to a request for comment by press time, and it’s unclear how the business is doing overall. The independent data company Growjo, however, says it has estimated annual revenue of about $148 million and grew its employee count by 16% since last year.
The owner of the 5-story building between Second and Third avenues is the private entity Lai’s Multinational Realty Corp., which appears to be managed by Elsa and Dunnie Lai. They also own several other buildings in the neighborhood, including the former Provident Loan Society building at 225 E. Houston St., according to city records. Valued at about $6.2 million, records show, 251 E. 13th is also occupied by eight rental apartments on the upper floors, none of which is currently available. A two-bedroom was last rented in July for $5,495, according to StreetEasy.
Lai’s Multinational Realty Corp. acquired the building in 1983 for an unclear amount as it was before the city kept a record of such transactions, according to documents from that time. Attempts to reach Elsa and Dunnie Lai were unsuccessful by press time.
