CW Retail - Food Halls Report

Essex Street Market

T he historic Essex Street Market was created in the 1930s by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia as a place for street vendors to sell their wares on the Lower East Side. The explosion of growth in the area over the past few years coupled with strong millennial demographics have helped to transform this into one of the city's premier food hall sites with 23 independent merchants (19 food related) and a focus on artisanal and authentic foods. Today the Essex Street Market comprises roughly 15,000 sf of enclosed food hall space that is owned and operated by the New York

Economic Development Corporation which operates this project as a startup incubator for small business. Merchants range from growers (Luna Brothers Fruit Plaza, Essex Farm Fruits and Vegetables) to artisanal vendors (chocolatiers Boubouki and Roni-Sue’s Chocolates, New Star Fish Market, Formaggio Essex, Saxelby Cheesemongers, Nordic Preserves Fish & Wildlife) to prepared food concepts (bakeries Pain D’Avignon and Davidovich, Japanese deli Ni, Peasant Stock, Tra La La Juice Bar), to service providers (Aminova’s Barbershop) and retailers (La Tiendita/Lower East Side Girls Club, Puerto Rico Importing Company).

Food Halls of America 2016

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