Shoppers Flock to Hell’s Kitchen

Shoppers Flock to Hell’s Kitchen

 

Hell’s Kitchen is heaven for shoppers: The neighborhood is nestled between two of the city’s premiere shopping venues: the recently opened Hudson Yards to the south and the Shops at Columbus Circle to the north.

 

When the Shops at Hudson Yards opened in March 2019, the seven-story space attracted shoulder-to-shoulder crowds who oohed and aahed at the expanses of glossy surfaces and the soaring glass walls which revealed views of the Hudson River, the city skyline, and the Vessel, a walkable work of art comprising 154 flights of stairs with 80 landings. Now that the novelty is wearing off, it is easier to get down to the business of shopping its roughly 75 stores.

 

 

The anchor of the Shops at Hudson Yards is the city’s first Neiman Marcus. The luxury department store includes dedicated Chanel and Louis Vuitton boutiques; other featured designers range from established names such as Armani, Balenciaga, and Pucci to relative newcomers including Ahluwalia for women and Amiri for men.

 

As well as New York City’s first Neiman Marcus, Hudson Yards is the site of the first-ever brick-and-mortar stores from menswear brands Mack Weldon and Rhone and the first U.S. shop of Heidi Klein, a British purveyor of upscale swimwear and resortwear for women. Other luxury apparel boutiques include the New York flagship of French menswear brand Crémieux, Fendi, Kenzo, and womenswear label Scanlan Theodore. Cartier, Patek Philippe, Piaget, Tiffany, and Van Cleef & Arpels are among the stores that will satisfy your need for a stellar timepiece or dazzling bauble.

 

 

 

You need not be in the market for couture evening wear or a diamond-studded necklace, however, to indulge in retail therapy at Hudson Yards. Atelier Cologne, the Body Shop, Kiehl’s, MAC Cosmetics, Origins, and Sephora will keep you looking and smelling your best; H&M, Uniqlo, and Zara let you indulge in fashion trends for less. PIQ is the place to go for plush unicorns, storage containers shaped like robots, and other quirky gifts, while the minimalist housewares, furnishings, and apparel of Muji will appeal to your inner Marie Kondo. If you require fortification after hours of shopping, a beverage at Blue Bottle Coffee, an éclair at Bouchon Bakery, a glass of wine and a gyro at Milos Wine Bar, and a steak and a lavender margarita at Hudson Yards Grill are among your myriad options.

 

 

The Shops at Columbus Circle shares the Time Warner Center with the Mandarin Oriental hotel, the Jazz at Lincoln Center venues, condos, and of course, the headquarters of media conglomerate Time Warner. It offers a similar high-low mix of stores as Hudson Yards and, in fact, has some of the same stores, such as Coach, H&M, Lululemon, MAC Cosmetics, Sephora, Stuart Weitzman, and Tumi. Hugo Boss, L.K. Bennett, Pink, and Ted Baker offer classic tailored apparel options, with Diesel, J. Crew, Lucky Brand, and Madewell appealing to younger and more trend-oriented shoppers. Amazon has a store here, where you can walk out not only with a book but also a Kindle or an Echo. Audiophiles have two shops to choose from: Bose and Devialet; at the latter, you can experience the quality of the French company’s speakers in a pristine soundproofed room. Planning a dinner party? You can pick up pots, plates, peelers, and any other culinary and entertaining accoutrements at Williams Sonoma, groceries at Whole Foods, gummy bears made with Dom Pérignon at Sugarfina, and truffles at La Maison du Chocolat.

 

If you prefer to leave the cooking to someone else, you are still in the right place. The Shops at Columbus Circle includes a dozen eateries. Momofuku Noodle Bar and its sister Bāng Bar, which specializes in Korean wraps, are ideal for quick bites, as is Bouchon Bakery. For gourmands, there are two restaurants that each earned three Michelin stars: omakase sushi palace Masa and Per Se, which offers nine- and five-course New American tasting menus.