{"id":218,"date":"2025-10-14T00:31:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T00:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/218\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T00:31:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T00:31:07","slug":"nyc-wine-food-festival-could-boost-struggling-south-street-seaport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/218\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Wine & Food Festival could boost struggling South Street Seaport"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a one-year stint in Brooklyn<\/a>, The New York City Wine & Food Festival will be back in Manhattan this week \u2014 potentially giving a much-needed boost to the South Street Seaport.<\/p>\n

Now in its 18th year, NYCWFF runs this Wednesday through Sunday and has an all-star lineup led by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. As the festival\u2019s first \u201cculinary curator,\u201d he will oversee more than 50 events \u2013 from grand tastings to an intimate $2,000 per ticket dinner for 12 people hosted by top chef and humanitarian\u00a0Jos\u00e9\u00a0Andr\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Vongerichten partnered with the Howard Hughes Corporation to transform the Seaport\u2019s historic Tin Building into a dining destination. The food mecca has struggled since its 2022 opening, but the festival could energize the\u00a0neighborhood, according to Lee Brian Schrager, the festival\u2019s founder.<\/p>\n

NYCWFF founder Lee Schrager and Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten at last year\u2019s festival, Getty Images for NYCWFF<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it will be as good for them as it will be for us,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of people have never been there or they\u2019ve just been once, so I hope this will be a good opportunity to reintroduce the Seaport.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nabe is yet to see a long hoped-for boom.<\/p>\n

Hedge funder\u00a0Bill Ackman\u2019s Seaport Entertainment Group (SEG)<\/a>\u00a0recently sold 250 Water St., located around the corner from the Tin Building, for $150.5 million. The sale marked a roughly $110 million loss on the property SEG bought in 2018. The group abandoned plans for a 27-story, multiuse tower in the face of strong community resistance.<\/p>\n

Compared to Brooklyn, the South Street Seaport is a more central location for restaurateurs, who told Side Dish there were simply too many logistical challenges to transporting their dishes to the borough for the festival last October. Getting Manhattanites to cross the bridge for multiple events was also an obstacle, restaurateurs said.<\/p>\n

Compared to Brooklyn, the South Street Seaport is a more central location for restaurateurs, who told Side Dish there were simply too many logistical challenges to transporting their dishes to the borough for the festival last October. Getty Images for NYCWFF<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had moved to Brooklyn because we had outgrown our space \u2014 we had started 18 years ago in the Meatpacking District \u2014 and I didn\u2019t want to use the Javits Center,\u201d said Schrager, who is also the chief communications officer for Southern Glazer\u2019s Wine And Spirits, the exclusive provider of wine and spirits for the festival.<\/p>\n

Big Apple options for large gatherings are limited, Schrager noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHalf of the piers are crumbling and falling into the water, so you are really limited,\u201d Schrager said. \u201cLast year\u2019s festival was too spread out. It was in Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan and our consumers and talent were torn all over the place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The New York City Wine & Food Festival begins Wednesday and runs through Sunday. Getty Images for NYCWFF<\/p>\n

\u201cI had wanted to bring it to the Seaport for the past 15 years, and after it ended last year, I emailed Jean-Georges and asked him to help me move it to the Seaport, and he did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This week, NYCWFF is set to begin with \u201cA Taste of the Tin Building,\u201d\u00a0hosted by\u00a0Vongerichten\u00a0and Gregory Gourdet and featuring music by DJ Cassidy. Rachael Ray is back to host Blue Moon Burger Bash with co-host Brooklyn Beckham, presented by Pat LaFrieda Meats.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than 50 events will be taking place. Getty Images for NYCWFF<\/p>\n

Ray is hosting a $2,000 per ticket dinner of her own. Although it\u00a0has sold out, \u201ctwo seats have opened up as the winemaker decided to attend the event but not as a seated guest,\u201d Schrager said.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a\u00a0Grand Tasting featuring Gotham\u2019s best bites and restaurants plus Southern Glazer\u2019s wines and spirits. Sofia Vergara and her son Manolo will host the feast. A second evening session will be hosted by\u00a0Food Network star chefs Bobby Flay and Brooke Williamson \u2013\u00a0with the option for diners to add on a \u201cVIP steak-focused\u201d event at Carmellini\u2019s Carne Mare \u2013\u00a0Schrager said. He added that this year the festival will benefit\u00a0The Event Zero Foundation, which promotes sustainability, and the James Beard Foundation.<\/p>\n

Highlights will also include an\u00a0Asian Night Market hosted by Padma Lakshmi and\u00a0Vongerichten.<\/p>\n

Chef Marcus Samuelsson, right. Getty Images for NYCWFF<\/p>\n

Owen Han, Schrager and Alex Guarnaschelli at last year\u2019s festival. Getty Images for NYCWFF<\/p>\n

Additional\u00a0dining experiences will be hosted by Dan Kluger and Alice Waters, Paul Carmichael and Kwame Onwuachi, Michael White and Andrew Zimmern, and Daniel Boulud and George Ruan. <\/p>\n

Additional participating star chefs and maestros include Eric Ripert, Eyal Shani, Michael Symon, Emilio Vitolo, Tony Shalhoub and more. Drew Nieperont, of Nobu and Tribeca Grill fame, will host a lunch. The restaurateur is out with a new book, \u201cI\u2019m Not Trying to be Difficult: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some creative touches include a gathering for social culinary creators and another for cookbook authors and \u201cculinary storytellers\u201d including actress Brie Larson, who is out with a new cookbook called \u201cParty People.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vongerichten, Martha Stewart and Daniel Boulud at Four Twenty Five last year. Getty Images for NYCWFF<\/p>\n

The festival has sold around $2 million worth of tickets so far, Schrager said, which is \u201cright on track,\u201d as the most tickets are sold the week of the festival.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

We hear \u2026 Beard Award-winning chef JJ Johnson has launched his own spinoff barbeque festival, The Cookout. He is hosting the event, which will benefit the nonprofit Rethink Food, with Angela Yee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The festival, costing up to $200 per ticket for a maximum of 350 people, is this coming Saturday at the historic St. Bart\u2019s on 51st Street and Park Avenue. The goal is to bring together food, music and community in a \u201cpurpose-driven celebration\u201d of Afro-Caribbean and African-American culture, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Beard Award-winning chef JJ Johnson (center) has launched his own spinoff barbeque festival. Felipe Bedoya<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, the cookout was one of the few spaces where everyone showed up as they were and left full in every sense\u2014nourishment, culture, entertainment, community and purpose,\u201d he told Side Dish. \u201cWith this event, I am honoring that tradition while also bringing together new generations of diverse chefs and food enthusiasts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten percent of all ticket sales will be donated to feeding New Yorkers, he added.<\/p>\n

Featured chefs and culinary partners include Johnson, of Fieldtrip; Chef Preston Clark, of Lure; Osei \u201cPicky\u201d Blackett, of Ariapita; Ben \u201cMoody\u201d Harney, of The Real other Shucker; India Doris, of Markette; and Sugar Hill Creamery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We hear \u2026 The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival runs Oct. 22 to 26, with Lenny Kravitz performing on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n

The festival will be held at Baha Mar, a luxury resort complex in Nassau. It features top chefs Daniel Boulud, Marcus Samuelsson, Dario Cecchini and Scott Conant, along with Simeon Hall Jr., Amanda Freitag, Carla Hall, Maneet Chauhan and Geoffrey Zakarian.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Food has become a major draw for developments, culinary experts say.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lenny Kravitz is perfomring at the Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival. MARK SELIGER<\/p>\n

Boulud, who operates\u00a0Caf\u00e9 Boulud The Bahamas at Rosewood Baha Mar, is set to host a truffle dinner. A live music event with \u201cisland-inspired cuisine\u201d by Samuelsson and Conant will also be held. Conant will host a Tuscan lunch and other events.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kravitz\u2019s ties to the Bahamas run deep. It\u2019s where his late mother, the actor Roxie Roker, came from. (His late father Sy Kravitz was an NBC producer.) The festival will also host the third annual Fuze Art Expo, with more than 85 artists and galleries from 17 countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We hear \u2026 that Harvest-A Benefit for Union Square Park will take place Nov. 13, bringing Union Square\u2019s top chefs and eateries together to benefit the park. That includes new restaurants, like Vinile Italian Chophouse and veteran restaurateur John McDonald\u2019s soon-to-open seafood eatery Seahorse, as well as the beloved classics the the area is known for \u2013 from Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe to Craft, Tarallucci e Vino and Knickerbocker Bar & Grill. <\/p>\n

Additional spots include Jazba, Reyna, Mission Ceviche, Daily Provisions, Breads Bakery, Vallata, Javelina, Yakiniku Futago, Unregular Pizza, Rosa Mexicano, Schmackary\u2019s, Breezy Hill Orchard, La Pizza, The Stand and Joey Roses. The new Time Out Market Union Square will also be part of the experience, featuring top vendors including Taqueria El Chato, Kam Rai Thai and Fornino. Beverages will come from Martiny\u2019s, Lillie\u2019s Victorian Establishment, Oscar Wilde, Torch & Crown Brewing Company, Joe\u2019s Coffee, Out East and Avontuur Gin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a one-year stint in Brooklyn, The New York City Wine & Food Festival will be back in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[288,290,289,9,291,56,63,65,64,292,293],"class_list":{"0":"post-218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-celebrity-chefs","10":"tag-food-drink","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city-wine-food-festival","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-nyc-headlines","16":"tag-nyc-news","17":"tag-side-dish","18":"tag-south-street-seaport"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}