CW Retail - Food Halls Report

Todd English’s Food Hall at the Plaza

W hen Todd English first opened his Food Hall at the Plaza in 2010, his primary competitors were Grand Central Station, Chelsea Market and the Essex Street Market. All of those projects at the time were beginning to evolve, but they were still firmly of the old order: primarily transit or tourism- based venues where the offerings were mostly about fast food or street food. Chelsea Market was still evolving from that model as well, and Eataly would open its first New York outpost in the Flatiron Building that year. But English was the first to model his project on high-end, artisanal offerings with his partners. While classic American food halls at that time were still more glorified food courts, English modeled his project after the iconic Harrods Department Store Food Hall in London. We suggest that it was this project (along with

Eataly) that was responsible for kick- starting the trend of chef-driven food hall concepts that is currently sweeping the nation. Designed by renowned architect Jeffrey Beers, the Todd English Food Hall is located in the basement of Manhattan's iconic Plaza Hotel, is adjacent to Central Park and, in our opinion, continues to be one of the best food halls in the nation. Its roughly 32,000 sf of space offers a mix of prepared food and dining concepts overseen by English and his staff of world class chefs. In addition to this landmark food hall, English is in the midst of launching a new project—the American Market by Todd English—having recently inked a deal for space in Times Square with plans to open this 12,000 sf American- themed concept next year.

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

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