New York City's concrete cultural icon, The Empire State Building, is all geared up to sport a new white-tablecloth restaurant by the end of 2013.
The 102 storey sky-scraper is one of the most popular buildings of the state and has also been christened as one of the "seven wonders of the modern world" by the American Society of Civil Engineers, states Wikipedia.
The new Restaurant will basically serve American Cuisine, on the ground floor of The Empire State Building. It will also be covering a lower level. The eatery is expected to accommodate 100 seaters, reported The Wall street Journal.
The restaurant will be a partner eatery that will be jointly owned by Malkin LLC and the Patina Restaurant group, which is a major player in the restaurant industry, reported WSJ.
Anthony Malkin, owner of the Empire State Building, had previously decided to lease the space to other restaurateurs, but hadn't been able to strike a good deal as most of them were looking for discounted construction expenses and free rent. He, therefore, decided to form a partnership with Patina to take the project further, reported WSJ.
The Patina group is headed by Nick Valenti.
"Six years ago, if I had spoken to Nick Valenti about doing this, he would have said, "Tony, it would be a disaster. No one in your building would come to my restaurant,'" Malkin told WSJ.
"And now, it's exciting." he added.
Malkin also estimates that it will take approximately $500 per square feet to build the restaurant.
