The Citiblog

Photo: Market 57 Rendering

Market 57, New York City's newest food hall curated by the James Beard Foundation in collaboration with Jamestown, is set to open this spring at Pier 57 with the focus on women-owned businesses and people of color. The lineup includes 15 vendors, the latest of which is Mijo by Fany Gerson, the founder of Fan-Fan Doughnuts and La Newyorkina’s, and her husband Daniel Ortiz de Montellano. Mijo is an abbreviation of “My Son” in Spanish and will be part of a larger project the two have in the works.

Photo: Fany Gerson/Fan-Fan Doughnuts

Organizers say Market 57 will serve as incubator for a talented mix of emerging chefs and entrepreneurs who have been underrepresented in the culinary industry.

“New York City is filled with a rich array of cultures, traditions, and culinary influences, and the vendors at Market 57 reflect that diversity. We’re excited to bring delicious food to the city’s West Side, while showcasing and supporting incredible talent aligned to our Good Food for Good mission," said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation.

“We are able to create great places when we provide a backdrop and set of resources to celebrate and support the entrepreneurship and diversity of our communities,” said Michael Phillips, President of Jamestown. “Market 57 is that model brought to life for New York City’s culinary community.”

As the anchor tenant, the James Beard Foundation will also operate Good To Go by JBF, an incubator for fast-casual concepts featuring rotating menus from established operators who embody the Foundation’s mission and values. The kiosk will be a place where delicious innovation from emerging talent meets sustainable, ethically sourced, and accessible food.

Market 57’s vendor kiosks include:

Ammi: From restaurateur Jimmy Rizvi, known for his popular Indian restaurant GupShup and Chote Miya, Ammi will feature a menu of homestyle Indian favorites. The name Ammi, which means “mother” in Hindi or Urdu, pays homage to Rizvi’s mother and their family going back a couple generations. Not only will Ammi feature Rizvi’s mother's family recipes, but she will also be training and passing on these recipes to Ammi's chefs.

Photo: Maiko Kyogoku/Bessou

Bessou: Restaurateur Maiko Kyogoku and chef Elena Yamamoto will open the next outpost for Bessou. Kyogoku’s modern take on Japanese home cooking made Bessou a must-visit destination in NoHo. This new location will be called “Bessou on the Pier'' and will feature some of Bessou's signature dishes, including Japanese-style karaage fried chicken and sushi crispy rice, as well as a new rotating omakase bento and seafood-forward menu.

Bird & Branch: Wife-and-husband team Faith and Brandon Lee will open the next location for their specialty coffee shop, which showcases relationally sourced coffees and baked goods with flavors inspired by their Asian-American upbringing. Through their shop, the couple offers a job-training program for those facing barriers to employment. The Lees teach their trainees job skills as well as soft skills—a program that they aim to continue at their new Pier 57 location.

Due Madri by Butcher Girls: The latest concept from Erika Nakamura and Jocelyn Guest, the founders of the Butcher Girls, will bring 20 years of shared experience as whole animal butchers to Due Madri. Inspired by their travels to Italy, the menu will feature some of Erika and Jocelyn’s favorite sandwiches and will pay homage to their personal experience and shared love for meaty, Italian fare.

Photo: Wen-Jay Ying/Local Roots

Local Roots: Owner Wen-Jay Ying will feature a menu of elevated Chinese farm-to-table food with homestyle cooking using sustainably grown ingredients from local farms. The menu will offer popular items like scallion pancakes, bubble tea, vegetarian egg drop soup, and vegan organic Mapo tofu bowls, along with many grab-and-go options to take to Pier 57’s rooftop park. Ying is known as one of the faces of New York City’s local food movement.

LoLo’s on the Water: Raymond Z. Mohan and Leticia Skai Young Mohan offer a spin-off of their Harlem mainstay LoLo's Seafood Shack, a Cape Cod and Caribbean Mashup with LoLo's on the Water which will focus on Caribbean coastal comfort foods from Belize all the way down to Guyana. The name and menu of LoLo's is inspired by the seaside eateries the couple encountered while living abroad in the British West Indies as well as Raymond and Leticia’s Caribbean Roots and travel to over 50 countries together. The name LoLo’s stands for locally owned, locally operated.

Photo: Malai

Malai: Founder and first-generation Indian American Pooja Bavishi draws inspiration for her bold and flavorful ice cream from South Asian ingredients, offering unexpected twists on classics. Popular flavors at her Brooklyn-based ice cream company include masala chai and rose with cinnamon roasted almonds. Pier 57 will serve as the first Manhattan location for Malai.

Mothershuckers: Ben “Moody” Harney is known as “The Oyster King of New York” and operates the only oyster cart in Brooklyn. Moody’s goal is to serve more than just the best oysters in New York; he also is driven by the mission to educate the public on the benefits of eating and harvesting oysters–for the body and the environment. At this new location, all oyster shells will be donated to the Billion Oyster Project.

Nom Wah: From owner Wilson Tang, this new outpost of his beloved all-day dim sum restaurants will bring together his experiences as a second-generation Chinese American, serving Cantonese classics and riffs on childhood favorites.

Photo: Harlem Hops

Harlem Hops: Owners Kevin Bradford, Kim Harris, and Stacey Lee brought Harlem its first 100-percent African American-owned craft beer bar. Now the team is opening a new concept that will offer a welcoming space for small bites, socializing, and exploring an intriguing and accessible collection of innovative, small batch beers, including a growing number of beers from brewers of color. The location will also give another platform to the trio’s nonprofit: Harlem Hopes.

The Galley by Lobster Place: This fun, casual seafood eatery is the latest outpost from the team behind Chelsea Market’s Lobster Place. Chef Dave Seigal will highlight some of the most popular items from their flagship location, including their crowd-pleasing lobster roll and a selection of broiled local oysters, while also creating new dishes that capture the uniqueness and quality of their seafood offerings.

The Good Batch: Owner and chef Anna Gordon is the mastermind behind the popular Clinton Hill bakery, The Good Batch. Her latest outpost at Pier 57 will specialize in the hearty cookies, ice cream sandwiches, and little cakes that have made her one of New York City’s foremost dessert experts.

Photo: Romeo and Milka Regalli/Ras Plant Based

Ras Plant Based: Driven by the mission to connect communities to living foods by promoting sustainability, Romeo and Milka Regalli serve delicious and healthy plant-based food made from scratch. This second location of Ras Plant Based will feature some of the popular menu items from their original Brooklyn location, including flavorful bowls that are a hit at lunch time.

Zaab Zaab: Chef Aniwat Khotsopha and owners Bryan Chunton & Pei We have brought an authentic, forward-looking approach to Thai food at their hit restaurant. Showcasing the true flavors of Thailand's Northeastern Isaan region, this latest location will feature crowd favorites like duck larb, as well as some new surprises.

Market 57 is located in the historic Pier 57 between West 14th and 17th Streets within Hudson River Park. For more information, visit pier57nyc.com/market-57