(NEW YORK, NEW YORK)— Pennsy Food Hall will close at the end of March, Eater reports. The outpost of fast-casual options was conveniently located to attract harried visitors passing through Penn Station and Madison Square Gardens.
A food hall is basically a somewhat fancier food court, for all those not in the know. Commercial Observer also recently reported that the food hall market is on the downswing in New York; Pennsy Hall’s closure may be the first of many.
The hall had been opened for just four years before Vornado declared that it would close for renovations. The developer plans to invest $2 billion to build an additional four stories, including 145,000 square feet of lucrative office space. The changes for local businesses are likely the first of many we will see for that neighborhood in coming months. Vornado’s planned renovations for the space are contemporaneous with Cuomo’s plans to finally upgrade Penn Station, after the original, stunning structure was callously destroyed in 1963 to make way for Madison Square Garden.
The closure is bad news for business owners at the location. Adam Sobel, owner of vegan fast-casual spot the Cinnamon Snail, told Eater that he likely would not re-open The Cinnamon Snail post-Pennsy. Other chains at the location, like the Little Beet, Taco Dumbo, Ribalta, and Sabi Sushi, seem to have other outposts in the city, or in the case of Pat LaFrieda, a butcher and wholesale meat distributor, a separate source of income altogether. In a Facebook Post, Sobel said he plans to open a new restaurant with a different vision.
