Landlord of Formerly Iconic NY Wine Retailer Gets Green Light to Clear Out Abandoned Stock After Rent Dispute of Over $4.8M

A New York judge allowed Sherry-Lehmann’s former landlord, Glorious Sun, to clear out the now abandoned retail space. (Photo: AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The New York Post reported on Thursday that the story about the high-profile fall of the formerly iconic New York wine retailer, Sherry-Lehmann, might be drawing to a close. The shop’s landlord, Hong Kong-based Glorious Sun, was granted permission to begin clearing out the abandoned retail space after the defunct wine retailer allegedly owed more than $4.8 million in unpaid rent.

The Post reported dusty wine bottles, old photos, and a duo of Austrian wine barrels dating back to the 1940s still sitting in the eerily vacant shop, which was cleared out over a year ago after it was caught by the New York State Liquor Authority selling alcohol with an expired license and ordered to shutter its doors.

The store never reopened.

In early March, a New York Judge Suzanne Adams approved Glorious Sun’s eviction proceedings, and that it could reacquire the property on East 59th Street.

Glorious Sun’s attorney, Edmund O’Brien, told The Post that the landlord intended to repossess the space by the end of March.

“We did what we had to do to get an order of ejectment and we’ll follow through with the actual eviction,”  O’Brien explained.

According to the commercial real estate company, Newmark, it’s possible the location could cost up to $250 a square foot.

The fall of Sherry-Lehmann, a wine shop that catered to New York’s elite

Sherry-Lehmann’s demise might just be something out of a movie, and after an article that ran in the New York Times in May, news broke that the store was accused of failing to deliver nearly $1 million in purchased wine to its customers, including the reporter who penned the piece.

Many of the wines purchased were wine futures, where a customer purchases the vintage well in advance of its release. The article cited an example of a customer being allegedly stiffed out of $385,000 worth of 1995 Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache.

In June, the FBI’s art crime team began an investigation into the store adding to a growing influx of legal scrutiny. Sherry-Lehmann was being probed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, the Postal Service, the New York Police Department and the Justice Department, which planned to convene a federal grand jury as some of the missing wine was supposed to be shipped across state lines.

One month later, FBI agents and the NYPD descended upon the shop in “unmarked white vans” and entered the abandoned store, clearly looking for something, but the authorities refused to comment on the specific goal of the raid.

In addition to these ongoing federal and state investigations, the shop faces litigation from its landlord, Glorious Sun.

Customers are still trying to get their wines, according to The Post. The outlet reported that some individuals who used Sherry-Lehmann’s wine storage business, Wine Caves, cite that their wines have “mysteriously disappeared.”

In the comments section of The New York Post’s article, readers shared their thoughts on the end of the storied wine retailer:

“Very sad. I was introduced to Sherry by my father, who was a long time customer going back to the 50’s,” an individual commented. “I spent a lot of money there myself in the 80’s and 90’s and still have those wines in my cellar. Michael Aaron was always willing to talk about wines and various vintages, conversations I enjoyed. He must be horrified.”

Michael Aaron’s father co-founded Sherry-Lehmann according to a piece that ran in Wine Spectator in March 2023. His father retired as CEO in 2008 and the ownership of the business was taken over by individuals named Shyda Gilmer and Kris Green.

Both Gilmer and Green have not responded to interview or comment requests, Wine Spectator claimed.

Wine Spectator reported in March 2023 that Aaron was following the demise of the business his family built with great sadness.

“The store has lost its soul and that puts a cavity in my heart,” Aaron told Wine Spectator.

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