Details revealed about Anthony Bourdain’s food hall

Anthony Bourdain first announced he was working on a giant New York City food hall that would contain dozens of street food vendors at the beginning of 2014. In the year that followed, little was revealed about the venture, but in January 2015, the Wall Street Journal announced that it would officially be titled Bourdain Market and open in 2015. However, new details about Bourdain’s food hall have now been released at the World Street Food Conference in Singapore.

Bourdain Market 
Bourdain Market is expected to have 40 to 50 stalls providing street food from countries around the world. The Wall Street Journal piece suggests that the market will include a Xi’an Famous Foods stall, which has become an NYC culinary kingdom since Bourdain first visited the original eatery in Flushing in 2008. According to Eater, current talk around town places Bourdain Market in the new World Trade Center. Entrepreneur Stephen Werther has been working closely with the vagabond chef to make the food hall a reality.

A floor plan for Bourdain Market was revealed at the World Street Food Conference, showing that half of the space will contain a farmers marker while the rest of the area contains an “authentic hawker center” with food outposts. However, Eater notes that the farmers market is much more than a simple station for produce – it is expected to contain a tapas bar, oyster bar, butchery, bakery and Asian-influenced outdoor beer garden. The traditional hawker center is designed to be crowded and somewhat hectic, and browsers can expect to wait in line.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Bourdain Market will be the aesthetic, which is going to be inspired by Blade Runner. Vendors for the market are being recruited from around the world, but Bourdain and Werther note that they reserve the right to kick out those that don’t meet their standards.

Though no official opening date has been announced, with the 2015 timeline set, odds are Bourdain will want to roll out the market before the inclement East Coast winter weather kicks in. Bourdain Market will assuredly provide a unique experience to one of the world’s culinary capitals, bringing in a culture of street food that doesn’t currently exist in the U.S. If this model is successful, it could eventually spread to other major cities across the country – only time will tell.

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