Why a New York luxury hotel runs a farmers market | Book your Andaz Hotel with BudgetTravelinc.com

By Barbara De Lollis
April 28, 2011

Why would a luxury boutique hotel in Lower Manhattan bother with organizing a farmer's market - complete with a bluegrass band?

After all, guests at the Andaz on the eastern side of Wall Street can't cook since rooms don't have kitchens.

But general manager Toni Hinterstoisser said last year's weekly market was such a hit with locals that the hotel's not only bringing back the market on Saturday, May 7, but they're expanding it to Wednesday afternoons.

A room at this hotel for tonight, by the way, will cost you at least $395, excluding tax.

Here's why a farmer's market is creating a buzz at the Andaz...

A year ago when the Andaz was just a few months old and Hyatt's new Andaz brand was less known than it is today, Hinterstoisser decided to gamble on opening an open-air farmer's market outside the hotel on its otherwise vacant plaza.

Because the hotel was so new, it couldn't obtain a city license to sell food or drinks outside.

"We always wanted to do something with the plaza. It is part of the building. It is public but belongs to the ownership," he said. "But we couldn't get a license (last year), so we said, 'OK, let's do something fun has to do with food.'"

Other reasons why he thought it a farmer's market might make sense:

• It could fill a void in Lower Manhattan, which is being called home by more people. "Residents are pouring into this area," he said. "There is not even a Whole Foods in close proximity to this place."

• A market could raise the visibility of Wall and Water - the hotel's farm-to-table restaurant - to like-minded consumers who might return as guests.

• The hotel's new purchasing chief turned out to be a VIP in New York green-market circles who has known Tri-State-area farmers for years and could easily execute the idea. Joel Petreka, co-author of "The Greenmarket Cookbook: Recipes, Tips and Lore from the World Famous Urban Farmers' Market," launched green markets for city of New York, including the best-known Union Square market.

• The Andaz didn't expect to make money directly from the market, so they didn't have much to lose.

Sure enough, the farmer's market took off.

A range of guests, tourists and local residents who like to discover new places and experiences on Saturday found their way to the market. They browsed the farm stands, looking at the selection of organic poultry, locally grown produce, freshly made cheese and hand-made jams sold directly by farmers from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

Once the market took off, Petreka added a bluegrass band, adding another layer of festivity to the otherwise quiet block on Saturdays.

"It became a meeting place for people living in the area," Hinterstoisser told me. "Over the course of the day, you see different groups of people. Dog walkers and joggers in the morning; then women and their husbands with the kids and baby strollers; then tourists in the afternoon with their families on their way back."

The hotel couldn't sell anything last year since it didn't have permits, but this year, it plans to sell coffee and pastries on Saturdays.

On Wednesday afternoons - once the liquor license and seating configurations are in place - Andaz plans to serve food and drinks outdoors. The hope is that the Wall Street crowd will stop by on Wednesday afternoons on their way home from work to shop at the market and perhaps grab a cocktail.

More than selling coffee and cocktails, however, Hinterstoisser said the market has played a key role in boosting the hotel and restaurant's visibility.

Many people stop to ask what the building is since the low-key Andaz brand is housed in a 1980s former bank building and "Andaz" isn't widely known. When they inquire at the front entrance, hotel staffers have the opportunity to explain that Andaz is Hyatt's upscale boutique hotel brand, he said.
The restaurant's also benefiting from the market's activity - both for its Saturday and Sunday brunch, and for dinners.

"When servers ask how did you find out about us, they say the farmers market," he said.

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