Time may be running out to get a slice of the signature cheesecake at the original Junior's Restaurant in downtown Brooklyn.
The owners of the flagship Junior's, on the corner of Flatbush and DeKalb avenues, have listed the property with commercial realtors hoping to come to terms with a developer looking to build another high-rise condo along the booming strip of downtown Brooklyn.
But the owners of the iconic emporium that has sold cheesecake and other delights since 1950 are telling patrons not to worry because they won't sell unless the deal includes that Junior's returns as a tenant in the new building.
"Without a deal, we won't sell," Junior's owner, Alan Rosen, told NBC 4 New York.
If the family secured such a deal, which could be worth as much as $45 million, the Brooklyn location would be temporarily closed for up to two years while construction was underway, Rosen said.
"Maybe then we’re closing but by then we’ll have alternative locations and then I think closed for a year and a half to two years depending on how quickly they get construction done," Rosen said.
This news wasn't easy for Junior's patrons to swallow.
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""In the meantime we’ll suffer," said Terry White. "We’ll miss the cheesecake already."
The famed Brooklyn spot has always been a favorite of New Yorkers, but last October it garnered national attention when President Obama joined then-mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio on a campaign stop. But the blow will be toughest for New Yorkers.
"This is like ancient history," said Angela Irving. "I’ve been coming here since I’ve been six."
