Without ever having met the guy, we know for sure that there are a few things chef Anthony Bourdain loves: eating, drinking, smoking and making a scene. And those are the exact activities (minus the smoking) that he is hoping to bring to New York City with his food market.
Set to open in 2017, Bourdain Market is going to be very similar to the famed Eataly, except in true Bourdain style, it’s going to be massive and diverse. The year-round indoor food market at Pier 57 in Manhattan will be 155,000-square-feet, or roughly three football fields. “This is going to be a public market,” says Bourdain in an interview with The Daily Beast. “And like the great public markets of Europe and Asia—and the New York of the past—it will be designed to be useful and hopefully loved by its neighbors, an essential feature of a community. This is the first principle.”
On board to help Bourdain achieve his dream are the likes of Shake Shack’s former chief executive David Swinghamer, UrbanSpace Vanderbilt’s Eldon Scott, and retail entrepreneur Stephen Werther.
The front space will be dedicated to grocery shopping. “We’ll have our farmers market, our butcher, our baker, our cheesemonger, and more. So if you are a New Yorker and don’t want to fight the crowds, you can come in, shop, and you’re not going to have to go all the way to the back of the pier. You can also enter and exit from the sides,” Werther said.
In the back is where you’ll be able to drink and eat all day long… and even all night long. “We want to put the community first,” Bourdain stated. “But because of this market’s international features and its size and general awesomeness, we hope too that it will attract visitors like Boqueria in Barcelona, or Tsukiji in Tokyo or central markets of Sao Paolo, Saigon, and elsewhere. Democratic. Accessible. A vital part of a great city.”
There will even be an oyster bar, which Werther emphasized does not mean expensive dinning. In fact, the idea is to keep things pretty affordable. “We plan on having massive oyster bar,” explains Werther. “But the first thing people think of when they hear oyster bar is fancy. No, oysters were not always fancy. Oysters were the first original New York City street food. There were hundreds of pushcarts around the city selling oysters. The Hudson River was teeming with literally billions of fresh oysters. It will be a great experience. It will be a delicious experience, but it will not have to be a luxury one.”
Again, the launch is still ways away, and there are obstacles that could make things difficult, but if Bourdain and friends’ vision is successful, it will completely change the way New Yorkers interactive with food… and each other.
Head over to The Daily Beast to read more.
Are you excited for Bourdain Market?
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