Anthony Bourdain Cancels Plans For NYC Food Market

CHELSEA, NY — Anthony Bourdain is backing out of plans to head a massive food hall on the West Side of Manhattan, the celebrity chef announced on Friday.

Bourdain had planned to head a large food hall with dozens of vendors at Pier 57, a lot that's currently under development in the Hudson River Park at Pier 57 in Chelsea.

"Launching what is admittedly a very ambitious venture has proven to be challenging at every turn," Bourdain said in a statement to Eater, which first reported the news. "It seems increasingly clear that in spite of my best efforts, the stars may not align at Pier 57 which is an especially complicated site for which we still do not have a lease."

The food hall was meant to stretch across 155 square feet and include nearly 100 different stalls. Plans for Pier 57 also include retail and business space, plus a giant rooftop park. Google has already signed a lease to open offices in the space.

In a profile in the New Yorker last year, "Bourdain's Market" was described as a "preposterously ambitious venture." Bourdain and his business partners had planned to model the food hall after open-air food courts in Singapore.

Bourdain indicated that he was still looking to open such a market somewhere in New York.

"I promised a certain kind of market to New Yorkers and to potential vendors, and if that vision becomes clouded, diluted or compromised, it is no longer something that our city needs," he said in the statement. "I remain hopeful that New York will someday have such a market — I still passionately wish to create this resource that New Yorkers deserve."

Patch could not immediately contact RXR and YoungWo, the companies developing the site, for comment.

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