The Essex Street Market isn’t usually open in the evening hours, but last night nearly 300 people got to experience the wonders of one of New York’s most authentic food halls after dark. The Lower East Side BID and Time Out teamed up for a special tasting event. Most every vendor took part, offering tasty morsels to some familiar and not so familiar faces.
The BID is stepping up its involvement with the merchants in an effort to improve marketing and community outreach. Officials with the city’s Economic Development Corp., which runs the Essex Street Market, were on hand last night. A few years ago Yelp sponsored an evening event at Essex Street, but for the most part, these types of events have been rarely held in the market’s 75 year history.
It was a good opportunity to soak up the atmosphere in the historic facility. A few years from now, of course, the vendors will be moving across Delancey Street into a brand new market as part of the Essex Crossing project. Tim Laughlin, the BID’s executive director, said last night was a good testing ground to see what works and what doesn’t work. The new ESM will be twice as large and designed to accommodate these types of events; market architects might very well take some cues from the types of public gatherings happening now in the old facility.
There was definitely no shortage of interest. The event sold out early and a line was wrapped around the block.
At Peasant Stock:
Butcher Dionisio Silva of Heritage Meats carves a steak:
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The team from Heritage Meats:
At Luis Meat Market:
Cheese monger Anne Saxelby:
So that will be the end of the community market that I and my neighbors have shopped at for the last fifty years. The Essex St. Market was born of the push cart tradition in our neighborhood This will be another disgusting Eatly type thing born of the real estate industry’s greed . Free evening food tastings ? bull !!