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G
iven the transit-oriented roots of most
major historic U.S. food hall projects, it
should come as little surprise that this project
has evolved over the years to be one of the
nation’s largest and most successful food hall
venues. Even so, ranking this project second
may be cheating a bit. Grand Central Terminal
in Manhattan is one of the few projects in the
U.S. that actually offers two distinct food halls
under one roof. Indeed, if one separated out
the Grand Central Dining Concourse from the
Grand Central Market and Great Northern
Food Hall, one could actually argue that this
project boasts three major food hall projects
under one roof.
Grand Central Station has been a focal point
for New York commuters since 1871. While
the terminal itself has seen its ups and downs
over its nearly 150 years, it now boasts over
82 million visitors annually. The Terminal
itself was revamped in 1913, and has
undergone a number of reimaginations
between 1952 and 1979. Its latest restoration,
completed in 1998, doubled the retail and
restaurant space, in addition to restoring
the famous zodiac dome ceiling, the
refurbishment of the lower level Grand
Central Dining Concourse, as well as the
main level Grand Central Market section for
a combined estimated 100,000 sf of
restaurant and food-related space. While the
tenant make-up in the Dining Concourse
includes some long-time New York classic
eateries such as the Grand Central Oyster
Bar and, until recently, Junior’s Delicatessen,
in recent years the space has begun to
accommodate a flood of new fast-casual
operators ranging from up-and-coming
better burger giant Shake Shack to farm-to-
fork operators like Tom Colicchio’s (“Top
Chef”) Wichcraft. This is in addition to the
food-related space in the Grand Central
Market portion of the project where
commuters can purchase unprepared
artisanal foods from purveyors like Ceriello
Fine Foods, Li-Lac Chocolates and Eli
Zabar's Farm to Table.
These offerings were joined in June 2016 by
Claus Meyer’s Great Northern Food Hall. The
award-winning Meyer is one of the creators
of the New Nordic Cuisine movement. His
roughly 5,000 sf within the Vanderbilt Hall
section of Grand Central Station features
Nordic-themed delights ranging from an
artisanal bakery (Meyers Bageri) to coffee
(Brownville Roasters), sandwiches (Open
Rye), smoothies (Almanak) to sandwiches
(Danish Dogs and the Great Northern Deli)
to craft brewing (The Bar).
Grand Central Terminal/
Great Northern Food Hall
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Cool Streets Report: Food Halls