Chef Austin Johnson Opens H. Valley Market in West Village
Former One White Street chef Austin Johnson opens H. Valley, a high-end market and cafe on Hudson Street focusing on prepared foods, local provisions, and
H. Valley, a new market and cafe from chef Austin Johnson, fully opened on Wednesday, September 23 at 569 Hudson Street. The 2,500-square-foot West Village spot is built around prepared foods, local provisions, and an expanded high-end grocery model developed by Johnson.
Johnson, formerly the executive chef of the Michelin-starred One White Street and its sibling Rigor Hill Market, is behind the venture with Eytan Sugarman's Hudson Street Hospitality. He has traded fine-dining tasting menus for a market offering breakfast, lunch, groceries, and even dog food. According to the source, Eater, expect to pay well more than at an average corner grocer.
A Restaurant-Driven Market
The market is particularly restaurant-driven. Johnson stocks refrigerators and freezers with prepared dinners, ready-to-cook meats, sauces, pastas, breads, and pastries. The focus is on fancy sourcing and technique. H. Valley joins a wave of similar fancy markets like Happier Grocery and Meadow Lane, which often extend into sundries and events.
Family input shaped the project. Johnson's wife, Amanda Reilly, handled interiors and merchandise sourcing. His daughter inspired the family-friendly approach. Johnson emphasized operating hours that allow him to finish around 8:30 p.m., a contrast to late-night tasting-menu service.
Daily Menus and Provisions
Mornings feature coffee and pastries from head baker Grayson Claes. A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit is available, with a weekend omelet bar. For lunch, Johnson plans to serve three hot and three cold sandwiches.
The refrigerated section offers a wide array, including a dedicated children's fridge. This section contains heat-up items like mac and cheese, baked fish sticks, chicken Parm cutlets, spaghetti with red sauce, baked turkey meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, and peas and carrots.
Special Provisions and Future Plans
Dogs are also catered to with Dion's Diet, a house-made dog food using ingredients like Hudson Valley trout, chicken, duck, and vegetables. "The dogs are customers, too," Johnson says.
Future plans include hosting private dinners, visiting chefs, pop-ups, and other events. A larger dining program is slated for later this year. Johnson values the flexibility to host chef friends or a 40-person dinner without the pressure of filling a tasting-menu room nightly.
For now, H. Valley is open Wednesday from 7 a.m. To 8 p.m. And offers limited cafe seating.
