End of an Era – For Lease Sign Goes Up On Empire Kosher Building

by CrownHeights.info

For thousands of Crown Heights residents, an end of an era is approaching as a “For Lease” sign went up this morning above the Empire Kosher Supermarket.

The building, which is presently for lease by Mendel Jacobson of ONE NYC Real Estate, was built in 1927 as initially hosted The Empress Theatre. The 1600 seat theater closed in 1941 and reopened as the Crown Theatre. In 1950 the theater closed for good. Th theater was quickly replaced by the nostalgic Associated Supermarket before becoming Empire Kosher in 2007.

The listing on ONE NYC Real Estate notes that the property offers a combination almost impossible to replicate in today’s Brooklyn market: “a 13,000 SF turnkey supermarket with refrigeration, loading docks and a private drive in place; a licensed, built-out medical facility; and a 16,000+ SF second floor with 20-foot ceilings ideally suited to storage, fulfillment or distribution — all served by private parking for 30 vehicles and direct rear-yard access along the Empire/Montgomery laneway for shipments and deliveries.”

According to the listing, the entire building can be leased as a single user from the beginning of 2027, or divided into its component spaces. This means that residents may see Empire Kosher closing it’s doors in a matter of months.

Of the original Kosher Supermarkets in Crown Heights, Empire Kosher has been the supply for kosher food and other essentials to thousands of Crown Heights residents. It will definitely be missed.