Wine headache over

Finally, landlord can clear out Sherry shop

Iconic wine retailer Sherry-Lehmann’s Park Avenue landlord has won permission to finally clear out old shelves, fixtures and wine bottles at the storied shop — which have been collecting dust for more than a year since it shuttered in scandal.

New York judge Suzanne Adams on March 4 approved an “order of ejectment” that enables Hong Kong-based property giant Glorious Sun — which is owed more than $4.8 million in unpaid rent on the swanky space at 505 Park Ave. — to retake possession of the store at the corner of East 59th Street.

The famous vintner — whose clientele over the decades included Henry Kissinger, Greta Garbo and Andy Warhol — closed its doors after 89 years on March 10, 2023, after the New York State Liquor Authority found it was selling alcohol with a lapsed license. The agency ordered it to close and fined it $5,000. The fine remains unpaid and the store never reopened.

In recent years, the iconic retailer was dogged by costly, ill-fated moves.

The biggest, according to some insiders, may have been a 2007 decision to rent the space on Park Avenue after leaving its longtime flagship at 679 Madison Ave., property it had owned for 60 years.

After a long delay that some observers blamed partly on COVID-related court backlogs, the shop this week finally appeared to be getting cleared out.

The store’s glass entry doors are now covered with a drop cloth and its big display window — which had famously showcased rare vintages in splashy, artistic presentations during the holidays — now features a white sheetrock wall.

Glorious Sun last year sued Sherry-Lehmann and its co-owner Shyda Gilmer, who have been accused of taking money for wine futures and not delivering the goods to collectors, stiffing New York on $3.3 million in unpaid sales tax and not delivering purchases made online or over the phone.

Gilmer never responded to Glorious Sun’s lawsuit, while Sherry-Lehmann’s past owners, also named in the suit, argue that they long ago severed ties with the business and have no stake in it, according to court documents.