Juniors Owner Turns Down $45 Million

The original Junior’s Restaurant on Flatbush and Dekalb was saved at the eleventh hour when owner Alan Rosen rejected a $45 million offer for the building.  

Why did Rosen turn down that ridiculous amount of money? Because “this is Junior’s identity, is this building. This is the one where I came on my first dates,” he told the New York Times. Clearly, the cheesecake business must be good that he can turn down $45 million just because he got nostalgic at the last minute. Which it may be, seeing as how they already have locations at Times Square, Grand Central and Foxwoods Casino, perfectly situated to exploit the tourist industry. In fact, had he sold the building, Rosen had plans for a new Junior’s flagship elsewhere in Brooklyn.

Rosen put the building on the market earlier this year. But nostalgia for the iconic building and a self-righteous urge to play savior were too much for Rosen to bear. “I’m running something that has such a heritage and such a tradition for so many people here in Brooklyn, that it just can’t be replaced,” he said about the old building covered in neon lightbulb signs from the mid-twentieth century, for which someone was willing to give him $45 million cash.

Rosen’s actions gave his broker, Robert Knakal, a serious set of blue balls. The last minute change of heart left Knakal with the highest bid ever made on a building in Brooklyn ($450 per square foot) yet unable to finish the deal. He’s currently wet-dreaming  about getting $500 per square foot for one of the other dozens of new high rise apartments going up in the area.

Meanwhile, Rosen enjoys feeling good about himself for turning down $45 million, with the support of his wife, dad and therapist.