As the legal dispute between Papaya King and its landlord has come to an end, the objective for the restaurant’s owner, Sajid “Sid” Sohail, is now to keep the locally acclaimed business alive.
The popular Upper East Side hot dog joint shut down last Spring after 90 years of being on the corner of 86th St., due to legal troubles and the looming threat of eviction, but with the promise that it would return across the street at 1535 Third Ave.
However, Papaya’s supposed-to-be new spot shuttered and removed all of its signs before it could even open, and the space is currently for lease.
It has since been revealed that there was a legal conflict between Papaya King and its would-have-been new landlord, with them both suing each other late last year.
Sohail filed his suit against the landlord on November 14th of 2023, alleging that he was unlawfully locked out of the restaurant following a ventilation issue that made it impossible for him to open up the space to the public despite spending $500,000 on renovations.
Just days later, the building owner of 3rd and 87th L.P. sued Papaya King for millions in the Manhattan Supreme Court, claiming Sohail violated the lease agreement and demanded he pay $4 million in damages and more than $327,000 in back rent.
However, both of the cases have since been settled, as both filed notices of discontinuance- Sohail on December 8th and his ex-landlord on January 10th.
According to Sohail’s lawyer, Luis Barrack, things have been “amicably” resolved, as reported by NY Daily News.
”It was unfortunate that the other space did not work for a number of physical reasons. We spent huge amounts of money to build the space, but it would not work,” Sohail told the outlet. “We lost all that money but are out of that space. I truly wish we could have made it work there.”
This was the second legal battle Papaya King has faced, as when the store closed its first location on 86th St. it was involved in a legal battle with another former landlord over $120,000 in unpaid rent, which was eventually settled. The building that housed the original Papaya King was sold to developer Extell for $21 million in 2021, and then was sold again this past October to ZD Jasper Realty for $24 million.
The future of the restaurant is undetermined, although Sohail expressed confidence in the fact that Papaya King will reopen “soon” at a different location in the same neighborhood.
“We have over 10 employees that have been working at Papaya King for over 15 years and will continue to work at the new store and can’t wait to get back to work,” Sohail asserted in an email to the Daily News. “We are looking forward to the future.”
Sohail also announced that the restaurant will have 1932 prices on its reopening day, which was the year the spot originally opened.
