Famed NYC restaurant Serendipity 3 is opening a Times Square location

One of the most famous locations in the world is set to get a heaping serving of frozen hot chocolate.

Serendipity 3, the iconic New York City restaurant beloved by celebrities and everyday New Yorkers alike for that icy drink and many other favorites, has plans to open a location in Times Square later this year, the business told MarketWatch.

It’s the first time the world-famous brand, owned by a private group, has established itself anywhere in New York City beyond Manhattan’s East Side, where it has had a sole location since it opened in 1954 — first on East 58^th Street, before moving a few years later to its larger and present-day space on East 60^th Street.

At various times, Serendipity 3 has also had licensed locations in Las Vegas, Japan and Dubai, among other places, though those have all since closed. The “3” in the name refers to the restaurant’s three original partners, not the number of locations in the city or elsewhere.

The 60^th Street restaurant has become a Mecca for fans of the restaurant’s decadent treats — not just the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, as the drink is officially known, but also everything from its oversized and outrageous sundaes with names like Forbidden Broadway and Unicorn Bliss to its foot-long hotdogs and self-proclaimed Infamous Truffle Burger.

And that’s to say nothing of the restaurant’s kitschy and eclectic design, which incorporates everything from Tiffany lamp shades to the snapshots of pop-art guru Andy Warhol that line the bathroom walls.

Along the way, Serendipity 3 has attracted more than its share of famous faces, including Warhol, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Jimmy Fallon, Marilyn Monroe, Cher and Gloria Vanderbilt (plus Vanderbilt’s son, Anderson Cooper). Oh, and don’t forget Kim Kardashian: She reportedly flew to New York earlier this year with her daughter North and celebrated the preteen’s 11^th birthday at Serendipity 3.

The Times Square location will be on West 47^th Street as part of the OYO Times Square hotel, but will have its own entrance. Serendipity 3 management didn’t share the costs associated with the project, but Times Square is among the priciest areas for retail space in the city, with rents that average $1,606 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield CWK, -0.57%, the commercial-real-estate-services firm.

The Crossroads of the World, as some call Times Square, is celebrated for its larger-than-life digital billboards and round-the-clock crowds of tourists, to say nothing of its annual New Year’s Eve ball-drop ceremony. It’s also a popular retail outlet for national brands including Hershey’s HSY, +0.22% and the Hard Rock Cafe.

Some brands have made Times Square their flagship spot — most notably, Krispy Kreme Inc. DNUT, +1.19%, the doughnut maker that beckons sweet-toothed patrons with a large wraparound video screen.

And of course, Times Square is where nearly all of Broadway’s theaters are located. By extension, it’s where the Walt Disney Co. DIS, -0.63% has become a theatrical powerhouse, thanks especially to its two long-running Broadway shows, “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.” The former show has grossed nearly $2 billion since it opened in 1997.

Joe Calderone, Serendipity 3’s creative director, said the restaurant has avoided expanding in New York City until now for fear that it would “dilute the magic.” But he added that the timing finally felt right, especially given that the establishment had successfully rebounded following its pandemic shutdown and was seeing its usual lines of customers out the door — including many tourists.

“We’re not able to receive all the guests that want to come, so we need more room and we thought this would be the perfect location for our foray to a second New York City location,” Calderone said. “Nothing has the traffic or the excitement of Times Square.”

The roughly 3,100-foot Times Square space, currently under construction, will seat 110 and will be similar in size to the East 60^th Street location, which holds 140. The design of the new restaurant will also be reminiscent of the original’s fun and funky look, Calderone said.

Nevertheless, Wid Chapman, the acclaimed New York architect hired for the project, says he has aimed to make things a bit bolder and more contemporary in keeping with the vibe of the location.

“The concept needs to be on steroids to live and breathe and succeed in Times Square,” Chapman said of the new Serendipity space.

An example of how Chapman and others have done that: The new restaurant won’t have any Tiffany lamps, but it will have backlit Tiffany-inspired mosaics created by the glass artist Allison Eden and installed by D&E Tile and Stone, a company with roots in Italy.

The Times Square menu will be mostly the same as the one at the 60^th Street location, though Calderone said a few over-the-top items will be unique to the new spot. A special one he’s considering is an appetizer sampler that will be served on a miniature Ferris wheel.

Beyond its restaurant footprint, Serendipity 3 has sought to create a larger profile for itself with its line of Frrrozen Hot Chocolate drink mixes, which are sold through such prominent retailers as Amazon AMZN, +1.22% and QVC QRTEP, -0.49%. More recently, it introduced a cosmetics line, which Calderone described as being aimed at the tween and teen markets that have long been fans of the brand.

The company’s current annual revenue, incorporating both the 60^th Street restaurant and branded products, ranges between $8 million and $12 million, according to Calderone. But he said Serendipity 3 is looking to bring in an additional $10 million to $12 million from the Times Square location — essentially doubling its companywide yearly sales.

Restaurant-industry experts told MarketWatch that Serendipity 3 is making the right move in choosing Times Square for its second New York City home, given the crowds of tourists the area attracts.

“The frozen hot chocolate will fly out the window,” said Steven Hall, a restaurant publicist and consultant.

Still, not every business that establishes itself in Times Square is a surefire winner. Señor Frog’s, a Mexican-themed restaurant chain, opened a sizable restaurant in the area in 2015, but it lasted just a year. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri also couldn’t succeed with a Times Square restaurant.

“‘The frozen hot chocolate will fly out the window.’”

— Restaurant publicist and consultant Steven Hall

And while Times Square has seen crowds return since the pandemic, the area is still not as bustling as it once was. Broadway shows have yet to match the box-office returns seen during the 2018-19 season, for example.

Times Square has also faced recent concerns about crime, with a few incidents drawing national attention, such as when a group of migrants and New York City police officers fought earlier this year.

Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes the area, said there are many positives to report, including the fact that 225 businesses have opened in Times Square since the pandemic. Three new hotels are also planned, he added.

“There’s an energy to the area and we’re looking to build on that momentum,” Harris said.

There’s hope that the arrival of Serendipity 3 will be key to that building process, say those who work in the area. It’s not just that the restaurant is so famous, but also that it’s known as a New York brand with a certain cachet, they say.

Rick Miramontez, a veteran publicist of Broadway shows, said he’s excited by the “sweet” news and sees it as “another solid endorsement” for Broadway and the broader Times Square neighborhood.

“I can’t wait to have an opening-night party there,” he said.