Demolition crews had Thomas Street blocked off yesterday, since they were filling a dumpster at 62 Thomas, the former home of Buddha-Bar. Then J. caught an Instagram post for The Thomas, which describes itself as a restaurant and supper club, opening in January.

Clearly more to come if and when they reply to my email.

Buddha-Bar was pretty short lived, given the massive investment in the space (and they never paid me for advertising!) — running from 2021 to July 2025. The concept was five years in the making there; they first pitched to Community Board 1 in 2016. They went out with a whimper, taking reservations after another concept had applied for the liquor license. When they opened with a whole steamed crab on the menu for $600, one commenter called it a “Zoolander-level of silliness.”

Megu was in the space from 2004 to 2014.

In November 2025, CB1 approved — with a lot of caveats — a restaurant for the space from Voss Events NYC LLC dba Erte. That was meant to be a full service, reservation-only restaurant, with dinner theatre and immersive decor for holiday and themed events and a theater in the cellar. All in, that would have been 9897 square feet with a maximum capacity of 527 persons. The Thomas says it will have dining for 280 in an “Art Deco” room.