Historic building that housed the beloved French restaurant La Grenouille sells for $14.3M — here’s what it will become

At first it was “au revoir” — and now it’s “ni hao!”

The historic building at 3 E. 52nd St. in Manhattan that housed the fabled La Grenouille restaurant for the last six decades has been sold by a family member for $14.3 million to a shell company — one that’s named 8162024, LLC — The Post has learned.

The deed for the deal has not yet been filed with the city Department of Finance. Sources say the storied space will become a Chinese restaurant, or an establishment focusing on another Asian cuisine.

The 6,200-square-foot, three-story and cottage-like property was marketed by the partnership of Perry Rothenberg of Creative Leasing Concepts, Peter Howard from Oxford Property Group NY and Joseph Caputo from Exit Premier Real Estate. Earlier this year, the three brokers also sold the Frechette Restaurant’s building at 241 West Broadway for $15.3 million.

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They declined to comment on the buyer.

According to the Daytonian in Manhattan blog, the storybook cottage facade on the front of the restaurant was slapped on a former stable around 1913 and then used for the owner’s interior decorating firm. By 1920, the property had the Elm Tree Tea Room at the street level with Primrose House face creams sold upstairs. It became a luxury clothing shop until 1940, when it housed a nightclub and then another French restaurant, La Vie Parisienne, which was foreclosed by the city for non-payment of taxes.

By that time in the mid-1940s, the upstairs was artist Bernard Lamotte’s studio hosting the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Marlene Dietrich. Lamotte had created murals for the French restaurant, Le Pavillon at the 1939 World’s Fair — the inspiration for Daniel Boulud’s new hotspot — and where one of the young chefs was Charles Masson, also an artist.

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The two connected and in 1962, Masson and wife Gisèle, took over the building and founded the beloved French eatery La Grenouille that quickly became a hot spot for jet-setters and celebrities. Its red and gold-mirrored dining area hosted fashionistas — such as Yves Saint Laurent and Diane Von Furstenberg — along with singers, such as Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Rod Stewart and Prince.

It was a “veritable who’s who of the world’s most beautiful and celebrated,” as Philippe Masson, its most recent owner, wrote in an Instagram post last month announcing the closure.

After his father’s death in 1975, son Charles Masson Jr., Philippe’s older brother, helped out his mom and, in 2000, took over completely. At that time, he filled the dining room with flowers and improved the Old World-style menu to make it appeal to younger diners.

But in 2014, after Philippe began managing the restaurant for unclear reasons, and started singing inside during evening cabarets, The Post reported the change drove its most loyal customers away.

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The concierge of a Midtown hotel located not far away who didn’t want to be identified previously told The Post, “Nobody ever asked me for a reservation there in 10 years — not one.”

After Gisèle passed away in 2014, the IRS placed estate tax liens in April of 2021 for $1.87 million due from 2013 and again in June of this year for $1.67 million for taxes due from 2014, according to public records — likely a result of her declining health at the time and the switch to Philipe’s management.

The space was shuttered during COVID and again for several months last year ostensibly due to a gas leak — all before reopening this January to sparse crowds. Around that time, it was listed for sale for $15 million.

Despite the brothers’ issues, in May of last year, Charles, with an address in West Palm Beach, provided a mortgage of $3.17 million to his brother who already had borrowed $4 million from another source that January, according to public records.

Philippe, in the closing Instagram post, said that despite all the issues, he would “explore new terrain and pursue other dreams.”

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