Amalthea’s Horn Arrives in Lower Manhattan

The largest outdoor food market in the United States, Smorgasburg, is coming to the Oculus Plaza of the Word Trade Center complex for three days, starting today (Thursday, November 8) and continuing through Saturday.

Smorgasburg, which brings more than 100 vendors to at open-air locations in Williamsburg and Prospect Park in Brooklyn each week, and specializes in small-batch and artisanal foods, is no stranger to Lower Manhattan, after offering similar pop-ups at the South Street Seaport for several years. The event is being brought to the World Trade Center by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as part of that organization’s effort  to invigorate the World Trade Center Campus with community events.

“Lower Manhattan has an insatiable appetite for great food,” observes Downtown Alliance President Jessica Lappin. “Between young residents and a rapidly growing workforce, this community is drawing rock star chefs and leading restaurateurs to open up shop here and we’re thrilled to welcome Smorgasburg back to the neighborhood.”

Smorgasburg at the World Trade Center, which will run each day from noon through 7:00 pm,  will kick off today with a community block party, including music, a beer garden and a slew of family-friendly children’s activities.

Tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday (November 10), Smorgasburg will operate a curated version of its world-class food market with more than 20 vendors, including Bona Bona Ice Cream, Burger Supreme, Ca’pisci, Chef Katsu, Chickpea & Olive, the Choripan, D’Abruzzo, Dan & John’s Wings, Dough, Home Frite, Jianbing; Mutz, Rai Rai Ken, Ramen Burger, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Ring Ding Bar, Sons of Thunder, Wood Fired Ediblesm and Yakitori Tatsu.

“The Port Authority takes its stewardship of the World Trade Center very seriously and clearly understands the importance of continuing its evolution from construction site to a living campus welcoming millions of annual visitors,” observes Port Authority chairman Kevin O’Toole. “This three-day festival is another step forward in our effort to integrate the site into the Downtown community and to provide a family-friendly destination that will attract tourists from around the region and the world.”

Smorgasburg, was launched in 2011 as a food-centric spin off of Brooklyn Flea, and now attracts up to 30,000 visitors each weekend to its pair of Brooklyn markets. This success has led the organization to inaugurate satellite locations in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and Downtown Los Angeles, along with a pair of locations in Japan.

The much-prized Greenmarket at Greenmarket at Oculus Plaza has proved such a hit with residents that its season has been extended, through November 20.

In a separate, but related development, the successful Greenmarket at Oculus Plaza — an open-air farmer’s bazaar in the World Trade Center — has become such a hit with local residents and workers that its season has been extended through mid-November. Each Tuesday until November 20, shoppers can purchase farm-fresh produce at bargain prices from more than half a dozen vendors. (The Greenmarket will also be on hand today, as part of Smorgasburg, inside the Oculus.) For the market’s closing day, a week from Tuesday, a roster of highly regarded farm-to-table purveyors, such as Meredith’s Country Bakery and Kernan Farms Vegetables plan to come laden with pre-Thanksgiving comestibles.