Union Square Celebrates Obama

Now open on University after a very long delay: Simo, authentic pizza from the south of Italy.

University Place will soon have not one but two taco spots within two blocks of each other. What was Tortaria at the corner of 12th St. will now become the second branch of Santo Taco. The update:

Since opening in the spring, Santo Taco’s Soho stall has gotten people to line up around the block for its steak trompos and rough-edged masa tortillas. Now it’s expanding: A new location will triple the number of seats while adding margaritas to the menu.

The McDonald’s on 6th Ave between 14th and 15th St. has been remodeled in a sleek and sexy European style.  Well worth a visit to see what the future of fast food looks like.

from 6sqft:

Pioneering food hall operator Urbanspace is opening its latest outpost at Union Square reports the NY Post. They’ve leased 10,000 square feet at Zero Irving, the contested tech hub on 14th Street that will serve as office space, a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces, and an event space when it opens in the first half of 2021.

Located at 124 East 14th Street, at the former site of the P.C. Richard & Son building, Zero Irving has faced opposition for years, as local preservationists and community groups felt that the rezoning required for the development should have included protections for the surrounding neighborhood, which is largely low-rise and residential.

Nevertheless, the $200 million project has been under construction for the past year. Despite the thousands of small business closings around the city, UrbanSpace founder and president Eldon Scott is confident in what will be his company’s fifth food hall in New York City. “We have the ideal business model to help the New York culinary world recover,” he told the Post.

UrbanSpace’s other locations are Urbanspace Vanderbilt near Grand Central (the first location, which opened in 2015), Lexington Avenue and 51st Street, 135 West 50th Street, and 152 West 52nd Street. They’re also behind the holiday markets in Grand Central, Union Square, Columbus Circle, and Bryant Park, as well as seasonal food market pop-ups like those at Madison Square and the Garment District.

Urbanspace has opened a 10,000-square-foot food hall in Manhattan. Urbanspace Union Square is located on the ground floor of Zero Irving, a new mixed-use building on East 14th St. at the foot of Irving Place between 3rd adn 4th Avenues. Vendors include Summer Salt, Twenty One Grains, Kid Brother Pizza, Pita Yeero, Plant Junkie, Goat Café, Bao by Kaya, Bobwhite Counter, Playa Bowls, Wafels & Dinges, Top Hops, Casa Toscana and GoFish. The venue marks the fifth New York City food hall by Urbanspace.

You will soon, with the impending arrival of Baked by Melissa, the second branch of a Soho cupcake favorite. It will be opening directly across 14th St. soon. Enjoy.