Tin Building by Jean-Georges
Market · Financial District
96 South St, New York, NY 10038
Highlights
Gourmet food hall & market with diverse eateries, bakeries, and shops.
Gourmet food hall & market with diverse eateries, bakeries, and shops.
"A giant Seaport food hall led by celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten that opened in 2022 and cost close to $200 million to build out. Crain’s New York reported that landlord Seaport Entertainment Group Inc. said it had a “$33 million loss” for the venue in 2024, and the operator now plans to revamp the food-hall footprint to save money: closing one of the two commissary kitchens and shuttering one of the lesser‑frequented stalls. Earlier in January the operation laid off 100 workers after conducting employment-authorization checks, as reported by Gothamist. The same landlord is also behind the development’s large new restaurant and other forthcoming attractions, which factors into broader site-level planning." - Nadia Chaudhury
"A Jean-Georges Vongerichten-associated food-and-hospitality property run by the same Seaport Entertainment Group that is the landlord for the forthcoming installation; mentioned as part of the landlord's portfolio at the Seaport." - Nadia Chaudhury
"By comparison to the new 14,000-square-foot restaurant, the nearby Tin Building is a much larger food complex at about 53,000 square feet and employs up to 700 workers; it sits within the broader Seaport food ecosystem overseen by Seaport Entertainment Group, which is also behind the Jean-Georges Vongerichten-stamped food hall." - Melissa McCart
"A Seaport-run food and retail venue in New York where, just prior to the inauguration, management surprised workers with mandatory background checks and discontinued the employment of many undocumented kitchen and custodial staff. The action is cited as an example of how employers and entertainment groups have enacted measures that abruptly remove undocumented workers from their jobs amid escalating enforcement threats." - Jaya Saxena
"The two-story former fish market was vacant for a decade after the market that supplied New York City with nearly half its seafood left the Seaport in 2005; developer Howard Hughes Corporation later began talks with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten about a food destination in the space, and by 2022, after a $194.6 million overhaul of the 53,000 square-foot landmark, the chef and his partners opened a collection of six full-service restaurants, four bars, a handful of counter-service spots, retail, and private dining — at full tilt projected to employ 700 people. In December 2024, as a new management group prepared to take over, that group surprised workers with a mandatory background check and used E-Verify, a government tool operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA), to vet employees’ identity and employment eligibility; kitchen and custodial workers who are in the U.S. without legal status — many of whom immigrated from countries in Latin America — were hit hardest, according to Gothamist’s sources. “I was out for two days, and when I got back half the building was gone,” a worker said to Gothamist. The incoming operator said those who could provide paperwork within 10 days back in late December could return to work and those who could not would get severance; the group and a spokesperson dispute reported totals of affected employees. The building’s previous operator verified workers using a different system when it opened in 2022." - Melissa McCart
