BY GABE HERMAN | As the new “mini city” of Hudson Yards keeps coming into being, details were announced on Jan. 15 for the second-floor offerings in the complex’s Shops and Restaurants building, which is shaping up to be quite the luxury upscale retail and dining destination.
The “Floor of Discovery,” as the second floor has been dubbed, will seemingly be more experimental and hip, based on the newer and more Internet-based brands that will have stores there and offer experience-based shopping. The Shops and Restaurants building opens on March 15 and will have more than a mile of shopping over all, including more than 100 stores.
For retail on the second floor, men’s clothing company Mack Weldon will have its first-ever location; women’s apparel company Heidi Klein will have its first American shop; L’Oreal will offer a “concept store;” and Japanese retailer MUJI’s space will include on-site coffee service and a custom embroidery station.
Brian Berger, founder and CEO of Mack Weldon, said in a statement that he was attracted to the Hudson Yards space because of the focus on an “innovative approach to retail.” No details were given about what the store will offer, but he added, “We share the vision that high-touch, immersive and unique customer experiences will continually shape the future of retail. We’re eager to interact face to face with the thousands of Mack Weldon customers who will be at Hudson Yards daily, providing them with the same convenient shopping experience they’ve had with our brand online for years.”
Food and drink shops will include Momofuku’s chicken restaurant Fuku, seafood market Citarella with dine-in and takeout services, and The Drug Store, an experimental beverage shop that tests new products before they’re launched nationally, and which will include a bar and cashierless vending store.
Zak Normandin, Founder and C.E.O. of The Drug Store’s parent company Iris Nova, said, “We’re investing in experiential retail to test new concepts and connect with consumers outside of the digital space. The Drug Store at Hudson Yards is a place where customers can enjoy handcrafted versions of new beverage products.”
If all of the shops and restaurants won’t be enough to satisfy the senses, the “Floor of Discovery” will also include an art exhibition space called Snark Park, which this paper reported on in December. The space from design studio Snarkitecture will change its featured work three times a year, with each piece “accompanied by a unique retail experience,” according to Hudson Yards.
Other floors of the Shops and Restaurants building will include big-name brands like Neiman Marcus, Cartier, Lululemon and Sephora, along with many restaurants from notable chefs including Michael Lomonaco, Costas Spiliadis, and Thomas Keller.
