Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j8ovyew wrote

Reply to comment by nasty_brutish_longer in Is District Kitchen BUMPIN' during the day like Reading Terminal Market or Industry City in Brooklyn? by BeMadTV

It's a mirror setup of a typical food court to take advantage of tourists... in a business/residential area expecting repeat traffic.

This kinda thing works when you've got a steady flow of new bodies who will eat there and likely never come back. It's pretty ideal for vacations especially when nobody can agree with what they want.

But for someone who lives around here? There's always a better more affordable option.

Had it been put by the end of the high line it would do well with tourists who finished walking it and want lunch. Or by any museum.

11

Jahooodie t1_j8p24vc wrote

Or just like be open on the weekends when people are taking a nice walk on the waterfront. Or do like Chealsea market and have stuff that's damn good & unique

I think you hit the nail on the head, it's classic copy something successful but put no effort into understanding why or how it got there.

27

objectimpermanence t1_j8prpi5 wrote

I think the fatal flaw of District Kitchen is simply its location within the Harborside complex. No one really wants to walk deep inside a sterile office building to go to a food court, especially if it feels like you’re walking through an airport terminal. This only works when you have a captive audience of office workers that’s large enough to sustain it without having to rely on the patronage of outsiders and weekend visitors.

They should have put it at the south end of the building, which faces Columbus Dr and is right next to the Exchange Place PATH. That would drive more foot traffic because it would be a lot more convenient and visible to people commuting by bus and PATH, as well as for people who live in Paulus Hook.

To me, the renovation of that whole building complex is like putting lipstick on a pig. They should have bulldozed it and started from a clean slate. The area should be built with a smaller scale street grid that’s more in keeping with the historic parts of downtown. That would have made it feel more like an actual neighborhood that people want to spend time in.

23

kraghis t1_j8qegib wrote

Not putting it on the south side by exchange place was such a missed opportunity

4

pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j8p76qw wrote

Reminds me of that market Anthony Bourdain wanted to open. Then investors took over and lost all sight of the inspiration and how it should work.

4

Direct_Ad18 t1_j8pjdyn wrote

I don't think it was built for tourists. It was built to replace the antiquated 80s style cafeteria that used to be in this building for the hundreds (maybe thousands) of people that used to work in this building on a daily basis.

Before COVID this was full every day for lunch. I don't work in this building, but work in one very close, and we frequently had lunch meetings here. It was always packed.

I mean, this entire building went under a multi million dollar renovation in 2018/2019. Just really poor timing.

10

cmc t1_j8ptxtn wrote

The only smart thing is several of the food spots participate in MealPal. Any time I work from home I bike over and get a poke bowl from Tidal.

3

FinalIntern8888 t1_j8y36nf wrote

What is MealPal?

1

cmc t1_j8ycnv4 wrote

It’s a company where you pay them a flat amount per month and get a certain amount of credits that you can exchange for lunches at participating restaurants. It’s kinda like classpass but for lunch spots. There’s hundreds if not thousands of participating restaurants in Manhattan and probably about 10 in JC.

2

cmc t1_j8yqllm wrote

Also if you are interested I’ll send you my invite code- I get a discounted month and so do you.

1