2nd Pergola to perk up Union Sq.

The restaurant “exodus” from Union Square will have to wait.

A second outpost of popular, Mediterranean-themed Pergola is coming to 116 E. 16th St., a short stroll from Union Square Park.

The two-level, 9,900-square-foot lease was just signed with landlord Samco Properties. RKF’s Jeff

Geoghegan and Ravi Idnani represented Pergola; Joshua Smith repped the landlord in-house.

Pergola will replace Brother Jimmy’s BBQ. It will have a reasonably priced, Turkish-Greek-Middle Eastern menu similar to the one at the first Pergola at 36 W. 28th St., which opened five years ago and enjoys something of a celebrity following with regulars such as Rihanna and Drake.

The brokers wouldn’t say how much the owners are paying at the new location, but Geoghegan said the “ask” was $40,000 a month.

That’s a lot less than the asking rents of up to $3 million a year on locations directly facing the park, he said. But although Pergola, which is just 300 feet from the park’s edge, seems to be getting a bargain, the deal contradicts recent reports that the whole Union Square area is turning into a “restaurant desert.”

So far, just one decent restaurant has left — Republic, after a 23-year run at 37 Union Square West. Touristtrap TGIF closed a few years ago, mainly because landlord and TGIF operator Dennis Riese is trying to unload the building for $35 million.

But Blue Water Grill, at 31 Union Square West, did not close as was widely predicted. The building’s landlord, Ari Ellis, also owns 21 E. 16th, former home to Union Square Cafe.

When Danny Meyer balked at a rent increase and moved USC to Park Avenue South, restaurant-friendly Ellis promptly leased its old space to popular Japanese udon noodle mecca TsuruTonTan.