Tin Building Market Struggling Despite its Unique Chef Created Culinary Experience
The theory “If you build it, they will come,” isn’t always an easily achieved fruition in the New York City retail market as shown in the recent article by Crain’s New York. Making its highly anticipated debut in 2022, the 54,000-square-foot Tin Building Market located in Lower Manhattan’s South Street Seaport neighborhood welcomed tourists and city residents to an “eye-popping array of choices, from fine-dining restaurants and bakery kiosks to shops teeming with fancy cheeses and artisan candies.” Although there are several food halls citywide, the Tin Building Market stands apart from the typical food hall which features food stalls separately leased by a mix of independent restaurants and eateries, but instead is a culinary concept created by celebrity chef Jean Georges Vongerichten. Real estate firm Howard Hughes Holdings deconstructed the multi-level Tin Building that stands on the site of the former historic fish market and relocated it beyond the floodplain. As part of its reconstruction, the landmarked structure underwent a vertical expansion to add another floor and a total restoration to the tune of reportedly nearly $200 million over a 5-year period before spinning off Seaport Entertainment Group (SEG) into a separate public entity. The hope of a steady flock of crowds has yet to be realized, the higher volume of activity during the summer when people are drawn to the East River waterfront, rooftop concerts on Pier 17, and other neighborhood activities, tends to diminish during the cooler months, resulting in a reportedly $33 million loss for its share of business last year, prompting decisions by SEG to scale back the venture.
The Tin Building’s location somewhat “off the beaten path for many tourists and tucked away from the financial district’s office towers” may further contribute to some of the market’s challenges, but it also highlights the difficulty that “many food businesses face in coming up with a successful recipe for drawing steady traffic,” as exemplified by the recent closure of the Market Line within the Lower East Side’s Essex Crossing complex and the Gotham West Market, a Hell’s Kitchen staple for the past decade. Ideas such as immersive art installations and entertainment options are being considered by some food hall operators to help capture customers. SEG reportedly has plans for a “seasonal floor-to-ceiling glass enclosure” for the adjacent Pier 17 to allow the scheduling on rooftop concerts year-round instead of just in the summertime. Despite some of the struggles, the food hall continues to offer an attractive concept. Amazon has hired the Food Hall Co. to develop and run a 35,000-square-foot operation within its building at 425 Fifth Avenue — the former Lord & Taylor building that the e-commerce giant converted to office use; while JPMorgan Chase & Co., plans to open a food hall in its new headquarters at 270 Park Avenue.