Looks great! I need to check it out soon. Wasn’t fond of the the old location, just a very drab depressing space with no meaningful historical appeal.
Love this aspect of the relocation. NYC needs more efforts like this to support the smaller mom & pop businesses & preserve the soul of the city.
"While vendors were setting up — all at the city’s expense and at the same rent price per square foot "
I went yesterday (it’s my local market) and can report that it’s very nice, but also very odd to see everything all bright and shiny and spread out. I loved the old market and did not find it depressing at all. It was a homey, friendly place. I don’t need “meaningful historical appeal” when I’m buying lemons.
…just a very drab depressing space with no meaningful historical / aesthetic appeal that warrants resisting renovations or an upgrade.
Whenever I stopped in it evoked a communist era supermarket, albeit better stocked and friendlier vendors. I seriously doubt the businesses are lamenting the loss of the old space. Like upgrading from a C to a new A-class office building…personal experience - improves employee morale.
They have mixed feelings. Many of them feel a sense of community that they worry will be lost when the place becomes Chelsea Market-ified. If you’re interested, here’s a video series in which the vendors discuss their thoughts on the move.
Hmmmm I can see your point.
There was similar effort in LA at the privately owned Grand Central Market when they upgraded the facilities several years ago. Initially the mission was preservation etc. When the crowds started increasing, it unfortunately went down the path of Chelsea market. It’s better known these days for the expensive food stands and a tourist magnet. There are a few mom & pop businesses remaining but I think they eventually will be gone too.
I’m conflicted on how the market has evolved, on one hand there have been some reasonably priced great new stores. And certainly there were some prior vendors where it was time for a change. On the other hand, it’s no longer affordable for lower income shoppers, more along the lines of Ferry market (although not anywhere quite that crazy). I certainly don’t see many of their previous clientele shopping anymore these days.
It will be interesting to see how long the city can keep the fancy chains or hipster eateries at bay before they cave to the prospect of collecting more revenue.
I made my second visit today, to have lunch at Shopsin’s.
Pros: (slightly) more elbow room at the counter and a conspicuous lack of people knocking you in the back; comparably expansive view of inside of kitchen + inside of market, rather than inside of kitchen + wall.
Cons: constant - and I mean constant - stream of tourists asking where the menu is (on the wall - note the giant arrow pointing to it), and what the hours are (that info’s on the menu - see it? it’s on the wall, right over there).
I imagine things will simmer down some once the novelty wears off. But at 1pm on a weekday, the place was hoppin’ - everywhere, not just Shopsin’s - and that was not the case at the old market. Good news? Bad news? Too soon to tell.
I do sincerely hope this will work out to be a win-win development for all involved.
I’m going to be part of that tourist horde this weekend 
It was mobbed on Saturday! I think the place looks great. Met some of your neighbors, they seemed happy with the change. Vendors varied from delighted to overwhelmed by the crowds, more positive than negative I think.
Time will tell how it fares, Chelsea-fied or remain an affordable local market.
Some mislabeling going on here.
Hah! I was there Saturday as well, and I remember thinking “those crabs do NOT look live.” I mostly hung out upstairs, went to the kimchi-making demo and listened to the music.
I wasn’t the only one.
So what was your impression on your 2nd (?) visit?
My fourth, actually. I’m looking forward to not having to fight the crowds, but at least the aisles are wide ('ve gotten spoiled by our gigantic Trader Joe’s). I wish Essex had a decent fish market. I think we lost one of the two from the old market, not that that one was anything to write home about, either.
The new basement dining area has opened. Feels like lots of expensive stuff… wonder if this will begin the downhill slide of initially targeting the local clientele. The developers will argue otherwise.
Still beats the Hudson Yards by a million miles… the quintessential cold, soulless monstrosity. Although I’ve softened my stance on Mercado, I continue to find their offerings expensive however what you get does not suck.
I’m going to check it out in the next couple days. I’m at the market at least once a week, so Monday latest. When did you go? And how crowded was it?
My apologies should have clarified my post. My initial reaction was based on the article, have not been myself. Will most likely drop by next week.
@small_h do report back
I made my first visit below deck this afternoon. About half the places are still closed, including Tortilleria Nixtamal, which was my primary destination. Alas. The Pickle Guys (who are up and running) told me Tortilleria was open earlier in the day but ran into some problems and shut down early. So I had some Nom Wah dumplings instead. They were good. Also ready in 10 seconds, which made me suspicious.
In addition to wine, People’s is selling vodka and mezcal and whiskey. It’s very precious in there, like a wine gallery. And it’s enclosed, which I thought was weird.
Essex Pearl (same owners as Aquabest) looks like a winner. Not sure what they plan to serve in the restaurant part, but I’m pretty psyched to be able to take a live lobster home on the M14 at some point.
Other things that are open: Schaller & Weber, Slice Joint, The Grand Delancey, Veselka, Kuro Obi, Moon Man, Rebecca’s Cake Pops,Substance Vitality Bar. Still very much a work in progress, though.
Thanks for the report, think I’ll give it a bit more time before I drop by
@small_h stopped by over the weekend. The gentrification game is strong!
Couldn’t get myself to purchase any smoked salmon from Nordic Preserves for my taste-off, everything was presliced thick 
The pâtés did look good, picked up a small slice of the pheasant
Here I am fighting with someone on another forum about THIS VERY THING. Go over there and back me up! (Just kidding. Let’s not have any cross-forum beefing.)
I continue to visit Essex Market a couple times a week (as I did when it was in the old building) and have found a few things I like - and just as importantly, can afford - at People’s Wine. I’ve also become a regular at the small Asian market downstairs, which has a “curated” selection of sauces and ramen and the like, and which I think is actually cheaper than Best Produce. Essex Pearl has a dollar oyster happy hour now, AS THEY SHOULD. So that’s good, too.
think I’m going to stay away from that NYC board, fairly hostile and judgmental group there. Sorry… I’ve concluded that I’m only going to purchase sliced to order (thin) as long as I’m here in NYC, world of a difference vs the pre-sliced alternatives - provenance be damned
Btw the pheasant pâté is quite good.
It’s not a fight; just a difference of opinion.
Pre-sliced thick sucks.
