Midtown East’s Newest Food Hall Will Boast Outposts of Teranga, Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery

The Hugh makes its mark on Midtown East

In a stretch of Manhattan already teeming with food halls, a veteran group of developers is betting that a stacked lineup of vendors can produce a hit. The Hugh, named after building architect Hugh Stubbins, will begin opening at 601 Lexington Avenue, at East 53rd Street, this week. The New York Times first reported news of the development.

The Midtown East food hall will open with two vendors this week: Avocaderia, an “avocado bar” that debuted at Industry City in 2017, and Thank You Come Again, a Thai newcomer from restaurateur Roongkant Preechathammarach. A total of 17 restaurants and bars are planned for the space, including outposts of Mah-Ze-Dahr bakery, Israeli hit Miznon, burger master BK Jani, and chef Pierre Thiam’s Teranga. All of the businesses will be counter-service, with a central dining area in the middle of the hall, the Times reports.

The Hugh comes from partners Anna Castellani, who opened the Dekalb Market food hall in Downtown Brooklyn, and David Swinghamer, who created the Hugh in partnership with real estate developer Boston Properties. Exact opening dates for the food hall’s vendors aren’t known at this time. Eater has reached out to Castellani for more information.

In other news

— Restaurateur Ravi DeRossi has opened a second location of Ladybird, his vegan tapas bar in the East Village. The restaurant takes over the former location of Saramsan, also from DeRossi, at 111 East Seventh Street, between Avenue A and First Avenue.

— Taqueria Ramirez, a Greenpoint taqueria with an early following, opens with expanded hours today after a month of operating just two days a week. The restaurant is now open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., and an hour later on weekends.

— The Feast of San Gennaro, an annual, 11-day street festival held on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, is back on this year, a spokesperson for the event tells Eater. The celebration will run from September 16 to 26.

— At long last, Trader Joe’s heads to Williamsburg. The grocery chain’s third Brooklyn location will open at 200 Kent Avenue, at Metropolitan Avenue.

— Vegan fast-casual restaurant chain NuLeaf opens the doors of its second location, at 888 Eighth Avenue, in Hell’s Kitchen today.

— Marathon Coffee is headed to the Upper East Side roughly a year after opening its first location in Chelsea.

— “The end of enhanced unemployment won’t solve restaurants’ staffing crises,” Grub Street argues.

— Good morning: