‘Taj Gold’ Jewelry Shop Fades from Eastern Fringe of Delancey Street

This image has been archived or removed.

Taj Gold, one of the last jewelry/pawn shops along the Delancey Street corridor, went out of business last month. Its store at number 156 is now without canopy and papered up for the duration. The company had been on the block for more than a decade.

Consider the location, though. 156-164 Delancey Street is a stretch of single-story retail that has been on and off the market several times in recent years. While some new retail did move in – namely, Boost Mobile and Cricket Wireless – it’s believed that the real estate is operating on borrowed time. The properties were last on the market for $16.5 million, a nearly threefold increase in what Ashkenazy Investments paid three years ago.

No bites yet, at least according to public record. But it can’t be long, given the progress with Essex Crossing just across the street.

Our best guess as to what’s happening here is that the landlord seeks short-term leases with early-termination clauses. That way they can boot the retail once a buyer comes along.