Inside NYC's new Shaver Hall food hall

“Did you once shop at Lord & Taylor,” asked the friendly greeter, noticing my reaction on entering New York City’s newest food hall, Shaver Hall. Indeed, I did. The venerable Fifth Avenue department store was on a direct route from my office to Penn Station, the perfect spot for some retail therapy before heading home. Like many others, I lamented its closing in 2019.

Walking through the ornate arched entry on a recent day, the nostalgia was overwhelming. True, where customers could once peruse cosmetics, handbags and jewelry, they now find artisanal cheese, Korean fried chicken and all manner of other deliciousness as the store has been repurposed into a 35,000-square-foot food emporium.

Shaver Hall, developed by Dallas restaurant group FB Society, opened last month. It is named for Dorothy Shaver,the former Lord & Taylor president, who is recognized as the first woman to lead a multimillion-dollar company in the United States. For Long Island Rail Road riders, Shaver Hall is a short walk from Penn and Grand Central stations.

Inside the hall 

The place was packed at lunch hour, with many customers gathered in front of three massive screens to watch a World Cup match. On their plates, perhaps a slice from Brooklyn favorite F&F pizza or a Mediterranean-inspired salad from Zazu or maybe on day one of the recent heat wave, gelato from Biddrina in an unexpected flavor like olive oil and breadcrumbs.

There are 11 stalls in the food hall, along with Tallow, a steakhouse,  and the first U.S. outpost of Pick & Cheese (an innovative restaurant where plates of cheese circulate on a conveyor belt). Coming soon, an omakase restaurant led by Michelin-starred chef B.K. Park. There’s also a massive bar called Layaway (honoring those retail roots), a drink wall where self-serve dispensers pour a daily selection of wine, beer and cocktails. And tucked in a back corner, there's a bodega selling everything from Khloe Kardashian’s Khloud Protein Popcorn to Heinz Ketchup. 

"There are so many options," said general manager Scott Selznick, as he weaved his way through the throng, stopping briefly to redirect a line blocking traffic at Taqueria Al Pastor.

One of the beauties of the place, he said, are the extended hours. The hall opens at 7 a.m. daily when there’s almost always a line at Tompkins Square Bagels, and closes at 11 p.m.; midnight on Saturdays and Sundays.

Why another food hall? 

"It’s been a long time coming," said Selznick, citing several construction delays over the last several years. And he’s quick to acknowledge that food halls haven’t done all that well in New York City lately, noting the closing of high-profile establishments like Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Tin Building and the Todd English food hall at the Plaza Hotel. But Shaver Hall has a built-in audience. Around 2,000 Amazon employees work upstairs (Amazon bought the building in 2020) and other well-populated office buildings are nearby. 

"We really wanted to elevate the concept of a food hall," said Selznick, so the offerings have been carefully curated. Along with the upcoming omakase restaurant Mako, Park runs Norihana, a counter offering a variety of handrolls (around $6 to $12) and chef Sujan Sarkar, who got a Michelin star for Indienne in Chicago, operates Butter Chicken Social. "It’s more of a casual concept for him," said Selznick, noting that the butter chicken meatballs ($19) just might be his favorite thing in the whole place. "I had them three times already," he said (five days after the grand opening).

If you’re looking for a good deal, check out Tallow, which Selznick calls "an upscale steakhouse without the steakhouse price tag." The restaurant offers a prix fixe menu for $49, which includes an Italian salad, a choice of three rotating butcher cut steaks (on this day, 7-oz filet, 8-oz hanger or 10-oz. picanha), along with bottomless tallow-cooked fries. Extras include a sourdough focaccia, $12, and bone marrow, $12. Lunch will be offered soon, with burgers, steak Caesar salad or a steak sandwich for $28. Out in the food hall, Tallow runs a butcher counter where you can walk away with some prime meat, but don’t overlook the killer chocolate chip cookie made with brown butter and sea salt ($6).

In early days, much of the attention at Shaver Hall has been focused on a British import, Pick & Cheese, in its first U.S. outpost. A 200-foot revolving counter offers a rotating selection of cheese — and all of it is American. "We wanted to champion local," said the restaurant’s founder Mathew Carver, noting that the American cheese scene doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. "It’s under-appreciated and underrepresented," said Carver, who was in New York for the opening.

The current selections are "predominantly from the Northeast northeast, so the Hudson Valley, Connecticut, Vermont," said Carver. Each cheese is paired with a tasty accompaniment. Blue cheese comes with a spoonful of kimchi, aged Gouda has a square of fudge on the plate, a Pennsylvania cheese called Hootenanny is paired with maple caramel popcorn.

Everything comes on a color-coded plate, priced from $5.95 to $8.95. Customers can skip the conveyor belt and order far-from-standard grilled cheese sandwiches like blue cheese and bacon or goat cheese with honey and walnut ($15).

The concept is a huge hit in London, so why come to New York, Carver was asked. His answer is one the people behind Shaver Hall are depending on. "It is," said Carver, "the greatest food city in the world."