MANHATTAN — For those who thought it was sacreligious that the Limelight became a mall, it gets worse. An IHOP is moving into the notorious nightclub's former space, according to reports.
The Limelight, a club built in a former Episcopal church at 656 Sixth Ave., was one of the city's most popular — and hedonistic — hotspots in the 1980s and 1990s. The club shut down for good in 2007, and was turned into a marketplace in 2010.
The new two-story IHOP will have an outdoor space, a spokesman told The Real Deal, and will likely be open 24/7 like the East 14th Street location. The decidedly midwestern restaurant will be sharing the building with Grimaldi's Pizzeria, a New York institution.
The company plans to open dozens of new locations in New York over the next few years, including one in Times Square. It was not immediately clear when the new location would be opening, or if it would have a full-time security guard like the East Village location.