Margaritaville restaurant planned for NYC falls through

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville is coming to Broadway as a musical, but not to the Brill Building as a giant theme restaurant — at least not yet.

A much-touted prospective deal for Buffett to launch a New York outpost of his “concept” eatery at the landmark building at 1619 Broadway at 49th Street has collapsed, multiple sources said.

The talks were closely watched as a bellwether of “experiential” retail north of Times Square. Broadway is marred by yawning retail vacancies between 49th and 58th streets.

Ironically, the New York Times reported this week that Buffett’s sprawling entertainment company — which owns and operates hotels, casinos, restaurants and stores — will bring his musical, “Escape to Margaritaville,” to Broadway in spring 2018.

It was widely reported last year that a lease was all but signed for a multi-level Margaritaville eating-entertainment complex in the Brill Building, once home to the nation’s songwriting royalty and to Jack Dempsey’s steak house.

However, the deal fell through when pharmacy chain CVS recently inked a deal for the entire second floor. Margaritaville had wanted that floor as well as part of the ground floor and the rooftop.

It was known since last summer that CVS was in talks with Brill’s owners — but for elsewhere in the building.

An insider told us, “What happened is strange. They’re still pitching Buffett on a Margaritaville deal somewhere in the building.” The source added skeptically, “But it’s back to square one.”

None of the parties responded to our questions — including Eric Hadar’s Allied Partners, (which owns Brill as part of complicated ownership structure with Bruce Brickman and also includes several minority partners);

Brickman’s leasing agents, Jordan Plesser and Paul Kotcher; and reps for Margaritaville.