Bourdain brings his travels home

Author and television host Anthony Bourdain has finally unveiled the plans for a retail food market that will be located on a pier in New York City. Rumors have been swirling for months that Bourdain, host of culinary travel shows like No Reservations and Parts Unkown, was planning such a venture.

Now he has confirmed that he and his partners have subleased a building known as Pier 57, located on a busy pier on the Hudson River in New York. The market won’t open for about two years, according to Bourdain, but he has locked down commitments from some big names like April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman, who plan to open prepared-food stalls in the market.

The project is patterned after city markets like Pike Place Market in Seattle. Over 100 retail and wholesale vendors are envisioned, ranging from fishmongers and butchers to bakers and other artisans. But the main thrust of the project will be “a Singapore-style hawker market, with communal eating spaces surrounded by small stands selling street foods from around the world.”