Brooks Brothers is going back to its roots. And in the case of a 206-year-old business, those roots run really deep.
The retailer has signed a deal with L&L Holding Company to open a flagship at 195 Broadway in New York’s Financial District.
The downtown site, which will be 9,871 square feet on two levels, is close to the shop on Catherine and Cherry Streets, where the company got its start in 1818. The lease is for 10 years and the store, which will be located on the building’s redeveloped ground floor and lower level, is slated to open in spring 2025.
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In 2017, L&L completed a redevelopment of 195 Broadway’s lobby, which features marble Doric columns, chandeliers and polished bronze accents. As part of a retail master plan approved by the New York City Landmarks Commission, L&L reimagined 50,000 square feet of the lobby into retail space that will house Anthropologie, the Nobu Downtown restaurant and Brooks Brothers.
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The Brooks Brothers store will offer the complete men’s and women’s collections designed by creative director Michael Bastian, as well as made-to-measure and ready-made suits, along with several exclusive items only available at the 195 Broadway flagship.
The new store will also feature a rotating exhibition of historic items from the company’s archives.
The downtown store will join two other units in the city: Rockefeller Center and 86th Street and Madison Avenue. Its former flagship was at 44th and Madison Avenue, but that location closed shortly after the brand was acquired by SPARC Group, a partnership between Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group in 2020. The building in which the store was housed is owned by Brooks’ former owner, Claudio Del Vecchio, who was unable to cut a deal with the new owners. The building remains essentially empty and is used as an event space with a cafe on the main floor.
But that’s water under the bridge and Brooks’ management is ready to move on.
“Brooks Brothers is the premier source of American fashion, and we are proud to return to the Financial District, so close to where it all began for us,” said Ken Ohashi, chief executive officer of Brooks Brothers. “We were thrilled to discover this impressive, historic building and look forward to once again being a downtown destination for locals and tourists.
“Since 2021 Brooks Brothers has experienced significant year-over-year growth. Opening this new New York City store as well as several others in the near future is part of the exciting evolution and success of the brand,” Ohashi added.
“We are pleased to partner with Brooks Brothers on its triumphant return to Lower Manhattan,” said L&L Holding Company chairman and CEO David Levinson. “From the very start of our redevelopment of 195 Broadway’s magnificent lobby, we viewed Brooks Brothers as an ideal fit for this downtown architectural treasure. We are thrilled to finish out this transformation by bringing this cherished brand back to its roots.”
Designed by architect William Welles Bosworth, 195 Broadway was originally built as the global headquarters of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. The 1.1 million-square-foot, 29-story office tower, spans the full block from Fulton to Dey Streets.