First look at the food hall opening at NYC’s Lord & Taylor building
Renderings courtesy of ICRAVE
New York City’s landmarked Lord & Taylor building will be publicly accessible for the first time since the flagship department store closed in 2019. A 35,000-square-foot food hall, dubbed Shaver Hall, will open later this year on the ground floor of the historic Fifth Avenue building. Amazon bought the property in 2020 and converted the space into offices in 2023. Newly released renderings are showing off the food hall’s 11 curated stalls, wine and cheese bar, and “modern bodega.”
Named after former Lord & Taylor president Dorothy Shaver, the culinary complex aims to reinvent the traditional food hall, showcasing a curated lineup of original concepts while blending the building’s storied past with a modern, upscale-yet-approachable aesthetic.
Designed by ZGF and operated by Texas-based Food Hall Co., Shaver Hall will feature 11 distinct food vendors, including an omakase concept run by Michelin-starred chef BK Park, a performance space, and two full-service restaurants—one of them a “destination” spot called Tallow Steakhouse, according to the New York Post.
Previously announced vendors include Chick Chick, a Korean-inspired chicken spot on the Upper West Side; Brooklyn-based Taqueria Al Pastor, serving tacos and Mexican street food; F&F Pizzeria’s first Manhattan outpost; and the Mediterranean-inspired Zazu.
Design partner ICRAVE has further enhanced the food hall with rich jewel tones, metallic accents, warm woods, and textured surfaces that celebrate the landmarked building’s history. Overhead, woven canopies work to create a unified look across the space, while illuminated tenant signs styled after fashion labels sit atop the canopies.
“The rich heritage of the Lord & Taylor building provided an incredible framework,” Daniel Ghesquiere, associate principal of ZGF, said. “Our goal was to honor the space’s legacy while fostering a dynamic and modern future for New York’s food scene.”
Amazon acquired the building at 424 Fifth Avenue in March 2020 for nearly $1 billion, selecting architecture firm WRNS Studio to reimagine the landmark as a 21st-century workplace called “Hank” that embraces its fashion roots.
The building opened in September 2023, delivering more than 600,000 square feet with space for roughly 2,000 employees—about a fifth of Amazon’s New York-area workforce.
In addition to office space, Hank also offers a rooftop terrace with views of the Empire State Building, a dog run, and a sunken courtyard, as 6sqft previously reported.
When it opens later this year, Shaver Hall will bring the public back to the building’s ground floor for the first time in six years, after the Lord & Taylor department store closed in 2019.
Shaver Hall joins a growing number of new food halls opening across New York City, which, despite the flurry of new announcements, has seen several existing food halls close in recent years.
In May, the LIC Food Hall is set to debut in Long Island City’s Star Tower condo building. Featuring 10 established and emerging vendors, the hall will serve Chinese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, and Japanese dishes, offering both dine-in and takeout options.
Additionally, Time Out will open its second NYC food hall this fall at Union Square’s Zero Irving tech hub. Spanning 10,000 square feet, the space will feature seven kitchens, a fully stocked bar, an outdoor terrace, and a stage for live performances by local artists, showcasing a diverse mix of the city’s culinary and cultural experiences, according to Time Out.
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