Papaya King closed its iconic hot dog stand on New York’s Upper East Side last week after 90 years – however it is rumored to be king again.
The venerable establishment – whose neon signs have been displayed on the northwest corner of East 86th Street and Third Avenue for generations – is reportedly moving to a space across the road at 1535 Third Ave. between East 86th and East 87th Streets.
It comes after Papaya King closed its longtime location at 179 E. 86th St. on Friday. – a move that frankfurter lovers have feared for months, expecting it to spell the demise of the corporate that introduced the unlikely combination of hot dogs and fruit juice in 1939.
Extell Development, led by real estate billionaire Gary Barnett, bought the squat constructing for $21 million in 2021 and filed plans to town last 12 months to demolish it to make way for the posh tower.
News of Papaya King’s latest lease appeared on a sign on the front door of the old location and was first reported by uppereastsite.com.
According to the blog, one in every of the restaurant’s original neon signs “now hangs over the brown paper used to cover the windows” as staff prepare the brand new space.
Employees told Uppereastsite.com that the restaurant could open inside a week, with the previous counter being moved from the unique space to the brand new one.
The brand new space was previously a Modell’s Sporting Goods store.
As of 2020, Papaya was reported to have been arguing together with her former landlord over non-payment of rent on the last remaining restaurant.
Despite this, it is unclear who currently owns Papaya King.
Founded by the late Constantine “Gus” Poulus in 1932, Papaya King was taken over by Poulus’s son Peter, who opened many latest restaurants and attempted to franchise the business.
It was sold in 1997 to a group of investors and locations opened in Hollywood and Las Vegas, all of which soon closed.
In 2010, a group of investors and caterer Wayne Rosenbaum bought the corporate, telling a New York magazine on the time that it planned to deal with the franchise.
“Papaya King shall be here for one more 178 years,” Rosenbaum boasted within the publication.
It spawned quite a few spin-offs and imitators by then, including Gray’s Papaya, Mike’s Papaya, Papaya Dog, Papaya Heaven, Papaya Paradise, and Papaya Place.
Even Nathan’s Famous moved into the neighborhood in 1976, opening premises next to the flagship store and igniting a hot dog war that lasted six months until Nathan moved out.
But Rosenbaum told The Post on Tuesday that he had not been involved within the business for “4 years” and declined to discuss the matter further.
Meanwhile, Grab & Go Convenience LLC owner Sajid Sohail claimed ownership of the business, according to a dispute between Sohail and former owner Papaya at East 86th St. Imperial Sterling.
Imperial claimed that Grab & Go Convenience broke into a store on East 86th St. after his lease was terminated for non-payment of rent, and continued to run the restaurant without a permit, according to court records.
Sohail couldn’t be reached for comment.