Upper West Side’s Big Italian Food Hall Opens This Summer

Sceney Italian food company Cipriani is moving forward with its Upper West Side food hall, which is poised to become an Eataly-like market serving typical classics like gelato, pasta, pizza, and other Italian classics.

The yet-to-be-named food hall will be housed within the three-tower Waterline Square development located between 59th and 61st Streets along the Hudson, with an address of 475 West 61st St. The market will have a coffee bar, gelato and pastry shops, a produce stand, a “pasta lab,” and a cheese store, among other food vendors, the West Side Rag first reported. Everything will be run by the Cipriani restaurant group, which will also open a standalone, full-service restaurant there.

Additional stalls may include a cocktail bar centered on Bellinis, a rotisserie market, and a pizza counter, according to plans presented at a local community board.

Cipriani’s restaurants serve Italian fare ranging from pastas to deli items like prosciutto sandwiches. The brand recently came under scrutiny following allegations from several women saying they were sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein at different Cipriani restaurants around the city. One woman called the restaurants Weinstein’s “hunting ground,” and owner Giuseppe Cipriani has been questioned over his close relationship with the alleged predator.

The group was also caught in a tax evasion scandal in 2007, when its owners were forced to pay $10 million in restitution to avoid jail time.

The new UWS food hall and restaurant have not been named just yet. The 28,000-square-foot space is expected to open between July and August. Stay tuned.