Butterfield Market To Celebrate Anniversary On UES With Free Food

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Butterfield Market, the Upper East Side's longtime upscale grocer, will celebrate a special anniversary Thursday with a day-long event — featuring free food.

On Thursday, the market's newest location on Madison Avenue and East 85th Street will mark one year in business. The specialty shop opened last September as a rare pandemic-era success story, quickly drawing crowds seeking out its prepared food, baked goods and local delicacies like smoked fish and cream cheese.

Thursday's celebration will start at 10 a.m. The market will be filled to the brim with 700 balloons — enough for each customer to take one home — and staff will pass around free cupcakes to customers, as well as individual roses. (A cupcake-decorating station will also be set up near the chef's table.)

An Instagram giveaway will also be held later in the day, in which three $500 gift cards will be raffled out. People can enter the contest through Butterfield's Instagram account, where a post will appear Thursday evening. (Winners will be selected Sunday evening.)

Other recent recognition for Butterfield included a profile in Forbes and a mention on the Financial Times list of the world's 50 best food markets.