The Hudson River’s newest marketplace has just acquired an impressive new tenant.
In early February 2022, New York dining aficionados were delighted to learn about plans for a new food hall planned for the Hudson River Greenway. The project, dubbed Pier 57, was planned as a cooperation between The James Beard Foundation and Jamestown, the design-focused real estate investment and management firm behind Chelsea Market. Together, they planned to operate a mission-centered showcase kitchen, dining and demonstration space, and vendor kiosk featuring new chef-driven, fast-casual concepts curated by Jamestown and The James Beard Foundation, establishing an incubator for local small business and food entrepreneurs aligned with the Foundation’s mission of championing a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity, and sustainability.
The space at Pier 57 had been highly sought after for some time now. A few years ago, the site was originally going to be home to Anthony Bourdain’s planned Singaporean street-hawker inspired food hall, but plans fell through in 2017 (though the project has since been revived and moved to Midtown). Currently, the 16,000 square foot pier is already home to one of New York City’s largest public rooftop parks, and is also home to the popular City Winery restaurant and music venue.
Now that construction of the food hall is nearing completion though, more information has just broken about the new tenants who will be bringing their culinary expertise to the space. The first tenant to move into Pier 57 will be Zaab Zaab, the critically acclaimed Thai restaurant based out of Elmhurst, Queens. Established in May of this year, Chef Aniwat Khotsopa has been steadily elating guests with his signature Isan cuisine, and has already earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in Zaab Zaab’s first year of operation. Emphasizing northern Thai dishes that are less common than their southern counterpart, Zaab Zaab has earned serious acclaim from outlets like Eater, Gothamist, and Thrillist.
Now, on their heels of their first expansion into Brooklyn, owners Bryan Chunton and Pei Wei will be taking their popular restaurant concept to Manhattan, where they will be anchoring the new food Hall at Pier 57, alongside a diverse array of yet-to-be revealed restaurants. The food Hall will be operating daily from 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM, seven days a week, and the owners are currently in the process of acquiring a new wine, beer, and cider license for the space. While you wait for Pier 57 to finish development, you can visit Zaab Zaab in Brooklyn or Queens, and you can also follow the company on Instagram for regular updates on all of their latest expansions.
