Shaver Hall, Amazon's newly opened food hall located in the former Lord & Taylor building on Fifth Avenue, is seen by some critics as further evidence of the waning popularity of the food hall concept. The Dallas-based The Food Hall Co. is operating Shaver Hall, which opened amidst considerable industry hype, despite a recent trend of closures for similar establishments in New York City.
The food hall model has faced challenges in the city, with several venues recently shutting down. These include Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Tin Building, Todd English's Plaza hotel food court, Singapore-themed Urban Hawker, Gotham West, Canal Street Market, Market Lane, multiple Urban Space locations, Citizens Market Hall, and Williamsburg Food Hall. Many of these closures occurred despite claims of offering unique culinary experiences.
Critics argue that New York City itself functions as a vast food court, offering a plethora of distinct and comfortable restaurant options that overshadow the appeal of crowded, often charmless, food hall settings. The perceived shortcomings of food halls often include inconsistent food quality, unpredictable operating hours, and long wait times, attributed to operators leasing stalls to vendors without directly managing them.
Shaver Hall features eleven "chef-curated" stands, three sit-down restaurants, two bars, and a stage for live entertainment. Despite attempts to improve the dining experience with better seating and table spacing, the offerings have drawn mixed reviews. Dishes like tan tan noodles from Tonchinette and al pastor tacos from Taqueria al Pastor were noted as enjoyable, but other vendors, such as Zazu Mediterranean, experienced stockouts early in the day.
A conveyor-belt cheese concept, Pick & Cheese, and a "Bodega" station offering branded snacks also failed to impress, with limited selections and confusing ordering systems. The most positively received amenity appears to be the complimentary bananas offered in the lobby, provided by Amazon.
Despite the challenges, Shaver Hall aims to distinguish itself. However, its opening in a historically significant retail space, coupled with the broader trend of food hall closures, suggests a difficult path ahead for the concept in a competitive urban dining landscape.