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They’re sending out an SOS.
Celebs such as Chris Rock, Cindy Crawford, Heidi Klum, Justin Theroux and Wyclef Jean, along with legendary filmmaker Ken Burns and author Jay McInerney, are rallying to save Lure Fishbar.
Soho’s subterranean seafood and sushi institution has anchored Mercer Street for 20 years, but it’s in danger of getting swallowed up by Prada when its lease expires in mid-2026.
“It’s my favorite spot in the city. I hope the rumors aren’t true,” Rock who frequently dines at Lure with fellow comics Dave Chappelle and David Spade, told The Post.
Earlier this week, The Post’s Steve Cuozzo reported that the luxury label, which leases around 20,000 square feet in the 176,000 square-foot office and retail building between Broadway and Mercer Street, was planning to open a Prada cafe, Pasticceria Marchesi, in Lure’s space.
“There’s been no communication. I was just told by a representative, not even the direct landlord, that he’s moving in a different direction with the lease,” Lure Fishbar owner and restaurateur John McDonald told The Post.
Art collector and Palm Beach billionaire Peter Brant owns the building that once housed Guggenheim Soho, and has been in talks with Prada to give the Italian fashion house the lease. The Post has reached out to Prada and Brant for comment.
Theroux, who also owns Ray’s bar on the Lower East Side and in Greenpoint, is in disbelief at the possibility of Lure closing.
“It’s sad even when an institution like that is threatened,” the actor told The Post. “New York spits out failed restaurants like watermelon seeds, so the fact that Lure has survived and thrived for decades, let alone survived the pandemic, speaks to its currency in the neighborhood.”
He added, “[It] would be such a bummer if this couldn’t be worked out. This doesn’t sound like a case of a place that can’t pay the rent or needs a break. This is a place the neighborhood goes to.”
Crawford praised the restaurant as the pinnacle for fashion’s glitterati and family meals. She told the Post that Lure is a “go to spot” for grabbing a bite with her supermodel daughter Kaia Gerber — who in May wore a floor-length sequined Prada gown to the Met Gala.
“I’ve been spending time in Soho since the 90’s and one of the mainstays that our whole family loves is Lure,” Crawford said. “It would be so sad to see a place that brought so many people from fashion and other industries together close after so many years.”
Klum, also a regular, echoed the sentiment. “Lure is Soho, it has lasted the test of time and is truly the epicenter for fashion, art and entertainment. Losing it would be a sad day for all New Yorkers.”
This past Wednesday night, herds of supporters filled the dining room.
Burns and his daughter, Lily Burns, an accomplished TV producer, popped in for a last minute dinner. Rapper Wyclef Jean held court wearing a Lure Fishbar hat.
“It’s our yellow submarine. The food is fantastic. We get the miso glazed salmon and the tempura shrimp. It feels like a home away from home,” Burns told The Post.
McInerney, author of “Bright Lights Big City,” said that Lure being forced to close would be “a crime against the New York City scape.”
A source told The Post Lure pays around $2 million a year in rent, a staggering figure for the basement floor space that guests must descend into by metal staircase.
McDonald owns several other restaurants in Manhattan including Bowery Meat Company and Smyth Tavern in Tribeca. The Lure kitchen is headed by talented chef Preston Clark.
Fashion designer John Varvatos, whose first store was next to the Mercer Hotel praised McDonald’s work ethic, and everyman ethos.
“I have watched – many times – John himself shovel snow off the sidewalks of Mercer Street,” he told The Post.
McDonald, meanwhile, is hoping for a peaceful partnership with the fashion house — if they ever answer his calls and meeting requests.
“My plan ultimately is to communicate with Prada directly and make them understand the smartest plan is for both of us to work together. If they take the building, I look forward to this being Lure Fishbar at the Prada building,” he told The Post, humbled by the outpouring of support.
“It’s incredible that thousands of people are posting and reposting. You can see it’s not going to stop. I’m getting more calls and people saying they want to come back for years to come.”
