The Lustig Group marks first 18 months with rapid growth, expanding team and four-state platform

Briarcliff Manor, NY Just 18 months after launching The Lustig Group (TLG), retail real estate advisors Nicolle and Justin Lustig have built a four-state platform with 30 active accounts spanning tenant representation, landlord representation and strategic advisory, while expanding the firm’s team with the addition of two experienced professionals from institutional ownership platforms.

Founded in 2025 after the Lustigs built their careers on the institutional ownership side of the industry, TLG has established an office in Briarcliff Manor and grown its landlord assignments to more than 1 million square feet across New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and South Florida.

The firm’s growth reflects a deliberate strategy to bring principal-side expertise to an advisory platform serving both retailers and property owners. TLG has gained traction in prominent suburban markets historically dominated by long-standing brokerage companies, while its four-state platform enables expanding tenants to work with one team across the tri-state area and into South Florida.

For landlords, TLG brings an active retailer network and a cross-market perspective to leasing and asset strategy. The firm’s principal-side experience means its team understands not only how to market space and negotiate transactions, but also how ownership evaluates merchandising, capital investment, risk and long-term asset value.

“Launching TLG was about building the kind of retail real estate advisory firm we believed the market was missing — one that could think like an owner while being nimble enough to move at the pace of today’s retailers,” said Justin Lustig, co-founder and managing partner of The Lustig Group. “The response over our first 16 months has exceeded what we anticipated. We’ve built an incredible team, expanded into multiple markets and are working with both established and emerging brands as they navigate a rapidly changing retail landscape.”

Expanding the Team

As part of the firm’s growth, TLG has recruited two experienced professionals with deep institutional ownership backgrounds: Jesse Broderick, senior director, and Kendal Hand-Freda, Director.

Broderick brings extensive tenant and landlord advisory experience across Connecticut and New York. Prior to joining TLG, he held positions with DLC Management and GGP/Brookfield, working across institutional retail portfolios.

Hand-Freda joins TLG with nearly a decade of experience in retail real estate and more than 2 million s/f of retail assets. She previously managed a 1.2 million s/f New Jersey portfolio at Levin Management and also worked with DLC Management. At TLG, she focuses on tenant and landlord advisory throughout New Jersey.

The additions strengthen what has become a key differentiator for TLG: a team with firsthand experience on the ownership side of retail real estate.

“Having people on our team who have sat on the other side of the table is incredibly valuable,” said Nicolle Lustig, co-founder and managing partner of The Lustig Group. “We understand the priorities of institutional owners, but we also understand what retailers need to grow. That perspective allows us to approach a deal from both sides and create better outcomes.”

Expanding Retailers, Repositioning Properties

TLG’s work includes multi-market growth programs for Riko’s Pizza, Mattress Warehouse, A TWOSOME PLACE and other emerging and established brands, as well as landlord-side assignments involving prominent retail properties.

Among the firm’s recent landlord assignments is 542 Westport Ave. in Norwalk, Conn., a nearly 60,000 s/f former Bed Bath & Beyond property that TLG is helping reposition. The property has already welcomed, CHALK, a 16,000 s/f indoor family entertainment concept, The Spot Dance Studio, a 14,000 s/f local institution, and Once Upon A Child also joining the project, and additional leasing activity underway. TLG is also leading the repositioning of the former Key Foods box in downtown Pleasantville, NY along with backfilling the former Planet Fitness at newly renovated Groton Shoppers Mart in Groton, Conn.

In South Florida, TLG represents Society Wynwood, a mixed-use retail destination in Miami where the firm has worked on tenant activity including Chipotle, Insomnia Cookies, iScream Gelato, Riko’s Pizza and other retailers.

On the tenant side, TLG has helped Riko’s Pizza execute a multi-market expansion strategy, with locations and transactions spanning New York, Connecticut, North Carolina and South Florida. The firm also represents Mattress Warehouse across Connecticut and Metro New York and is assisting A TWOSOME PLACE, a South Korean café and bakery concept with more than 1,700 locations globally, with its U.S. expansion into New Jersey.

The firm’s portfolio also includes landlord assignments throughout the Northeast, including properties in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.