Tin Building food hall closes, to be replaced by ‘Balloon Museum’
Credit: Seaport Entertainment Group
Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s market and food hall at the Seaport’s Tin Building closed its doors on Monday, not even four years after opening. The Seaport Entertainment Group (SEG) announced the high-end culinary hub will be replaced by “Balloon Museum,” an interactive art installation expected to open this summer. The move marks the end of the $200 million venture, which transformed the landmark into a 58,000-square-foot food emporium following a multi-year relocation and restoration.
Vongerichten, who runs several restaurants in New York, told Eater that the restaurants were doing well and SEG planned to relocate them around the neighborhood.
“The density of people coming in was not there for the market,” Vongerichten told Eater. “The restaurants were doing fine.”
Balloon Museum, created by the Italian company Lux Entertainment, debuted in 2021 and has since staged exhibitions in 23 major cities across Europe, North America, and Asia. The Tin Building will serve as its U.S. flagship.
Its exhibitions center on air as a “unifying medium,” described as “an ephemeral, democratic, and poetic element.” Visitors are immersed within the art itself, engaging with works that use light, sound, and motion. At its new U.S. headquarters, the museum plans to launch an original exhibition featuring newly commissioned works by international artists.
“The opening of our U.S. flagship in New York City marks a decisive milestone in the history of Balloon Museum,” Roberto Fantauzzi, CEO and founder of Lux Entertainment, said. “After years of international growth, choosing New York City and an iconic location such as the Tin Building represents an even greater cultural responsibility for our team.”
He added: “The Balloon Museum at the Tin Building is a natural evolution and significant leap in scale, not simply a new chapter, but the beginning of a stable and ambitious new dimension for our company.”
Vongerichten’s marketplace opened in fall 2022 inside the landmarked Tin Building. One of the two remaining structures from the former Fulton Fish Market, the building closed in 2005 when the market relocated to Hunts Point, according to Yimby.
In 2018, SHoP Architects meticulously disassembled and reconstructed the structure, raising it six feet and shifting it 30 feet from its original location. The project was part of the Howard Hughes Corporation’s broader redevelopment of Pier 17 and the Seaport District, as 6sqft previously reported.
The Tin Building featured grocery stores, six full-service restaurants, six quick-service counters, four bars, and other retail and private dining concepts. However, according to the New York Post, the marketplace struggled financially amid stiff competition in an oversaturated upscale dining market and a location considered relatively remote.
Last year, SEG reported a $33 million loss tied to its stake in the Tin Building. The company holds a 25 percent stake in Vongerichten’s company. Following those losses, SEG removed Vongerichten’s Creative Culinary Management Company from its operating role at the building and shifted to a licensing agreement.
Lois Freedman, co-CEO and president of Vongerichten’s restaurant group, told the New York Post that plans to relocate some of the Tin Building’s most popular eateries, including House of the Red Pearl and T. Brasserie, are “still under discussion.”
Additional details about the Balloon Museum’s New York debut and the future of existing Tin Building dining concepts are expected in the coming months.
“We are thrilled to bring Balloon Museum and its category-defining contemporary art exhibitions to the Seaport. Balloon Museum is a true global phenomenon that offers visitors of all ages a one-of-a-kind experience,” Matt Partridge, president and CEO of Seaport Entertainment Group, said.
“We look forward to this exciting addition to the Seaport’s existing portfolio of cultural experiences and other offerings, allowing our growing residential community and visitors to interact with art in an entirely new way.”
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