City Winery To Leave Soho, Clearing Way For New Disney Complex

SOHO, NEW YORK — The decade-old bar and music venue City Winery is searching for a new home after Disney purchased the space's Varick Street building with plans to erect its new headquarters.

Founder and CEO Michael Dorf has already begun looking for locations to house the restaurant and event space, which has grown to five other cities across the country, and plans to secure a new space and begin construction by the year's end. City Winery must vacate Varick Street by 2020, but Dorf aims to have the wine bar back on its feet in a nearby space by then.

“Trinity, and now Disney, has continued to express that City Winery is a significant cultural asset to the neighborhood and would like us to stay in the area,” said Dorf.

The move comes after Monday's announcement that Disney struck a deal with Trinity Church for a 99-year lease at Four Hudson Square, which includes Varick Street.

The media conglomerate plans to develop the entire block — from Varick to Hudson and from Vandam to Spring — into a $650 million, 1 million-square foot complex with corporate offices, studios and other spaces, according to Disney.

Photo courtesy of City Winery