New Harlem Food Hall Opening On Columbia University Campus

HARLEM, NY — Harlemites looking for a different spot to eat can find a bunch of new options later this week, thanks to the opening of a new food hall on Columbia University's West Harlem campus.

Known as Manhattanville Market, the food hall will open to the public on Friday at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center on Broadway and West 129th Street.

It will include four restaurants to start: Butterfunk Biscuit, specializing in sandwiches served between Chef Chris Scott's trademark biscuits; Shai, a Mediterranian-inspired restaurant focused on hummus and falafel; Benny Casanova's, a Sicilian-style pizzeria; and The Botanist, a salad eatery.

Each fast-casual restaurant is intended to be affordable and accessible to neighbors, organizers said. Later this fall, the first four will be joined by Oliva, a Spanish tapas restaurant.

Down the line, Manhattanville Market will host seasonal bazaars, allowing vendors to sell artisanal wares and farm-fresh produce. It will also serve as a venue for guest speakers, chefs and pop-up events.

The market is housed on the 5,000-square-foot ground floor of the science center, the nine-story glassy building designed by architect Renzo Piano and completed in 2017. It includes wheelchair-accessible seating and group-friendly, stadium-style seats.

The restaurants will be open daily from 11 a.m.–7 p.m. for dine-in, takeout and delivery.

"This project is very exciting for me, as is the ability to partner with such a prestigious university to bring diverse food concepts to the area," said Franklin Becker, the chef overseeing the market, in a news release.

"It has been a long time in the making and I feel we are poised to make a big impact on the neighborhood which is equally as rich and diverse"