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Todd English’s Food Hall
at the Plaza
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CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
W
hen Todd English first opened his Food
Hall at the Plaza in 2010, his primary
competitors were Grand Central Station,
Chelsea Market and the Essex Street Market.
All of those projects at the time were
beginning to evolve, but they were still firmly
of the old order: primarily transit or tourism-
based venues where the offerings were mostly
about fast food or street food. Chelsea Market
was still evolving from that model as well, and
Eataly would open its first New York outpost in
the Flatiron Building that year. But English was
the first to model his project on high-end,
artisanal offerings with his partners. While
classic American food halls at that time were
still more glorified food courts, English
modeled his project after the iconic Harrods
Department Store Food Hall in London. We
suggest that it was this project (along with
Eataly) that was responsible for kick- starting
the trend of chef-driven food hall concepts
that is currently sweeping the nation.
Designed by renowned architect Jeffrey
Beers, the Todd English Food Hall is located
in the basement of Manhattan's iconic Plaza
Hotel, is adjacent to Central Park and, in our
opinion, continues to be one of the best food
halls in the nation. Its roughly 32,000 sf of
space offers a mix of prepared food and
dining concepts overseen by English and his
staff of world class chefs. In addition to this
landmark food hall, English is in the midst of
launching a new project—the American
Market by Todd English—having recently
inked a deal for space in Times Square with
plans to open this 12,000 sf American-
themed concept next year.