Hudson Street's Newest Kitchens Both Source Up the Hudson

On Saturday, October 10, Daniel Humm opened his new restaurant at 435 Hudson Street, between Leroy and Morton. Seven days later, Justine's on Hudson served its last dinner at 518 Hudson. A week after that, on October 24, Mémé closed its corner at Hudson and Bank after 16 years. On September 23, seventeen days before Humm opened, a 2,500-square-foot market had opened at 569 Hudson, just south of Mémé.

Both new tenants are built around farms in upstate New York, and both come from operators who were already well known before they signed a lease here. The two places that left were independent dinner rooms, and one of them had its own upstate farm connection.

Four Addresses, Walking North

The changes run from Leroy Street up to Bank:

1. 435 Hudson Street, between Leroy and Morton. Humm opened October 10 in the former En Japanese Brasserie space.
2. 518 Hudson Street, near West 10th. Justine's on Hudson, a wine bar, closed October 17.
3. 569 Hudson Street, at West 11th. H. Valley, a market, bakery and café, fully opened September 23, right next door to White Horse Tavern at 567.
4. 581 Hudson Street, at Bank. Mémé, the Mediterranean restaurant, closed October 24.

The two openings sit at the two ends of the stretch. The two closings fall between them and just past them. Walking north from Leroy, you pass the newest dinner reservation in the neighborhood, then a dark wine bar, then a new grocery counter beside White Horse Tavern, and then an empty corner.

Both New Kitchens Point Upriver

H. Valley says where its food comes from in its name. According to Eater NY's opening report, the market sources from the Hudson Valley for its prepared dishes, produce, ready-to-cook meats, pastries, sandwiches, coffee and groceries.

At Humm, the menu follows the seasons, the market, and the harvest from Magic Farms in Hoosick Falls, New York, where Maciek Kobielski grows produce only for Humm's restaurants, according to the Resy description Eater NY cited when reservations opened.

So the two biggest arrivals on the street this fall both bring their food down from farms north of the city. One sells it to you to take home. The other cooks it for you at the table. The sections below take each one in turn, then the two corners that closed.

A Grocery Aisle Beside the White Horse

H. Valley comes from chef Austin Johnson and Eytan Sugarman's Hudson Street Hospitality. That group already runs White Horse Tavern and Made in New York Pizza, and Eater NY's September openings roundup also lists Keepers among its restaurants. With White Horse at 567 and H. Valley at 569, the same company now operates two storefronts in a row at the corner of West 11th.

Johnson was the executive chef at One White Street in Tribeca, which used to hold a Michelin star, and at Rigor Hill Market next door to it. At H. Valley he has left tasting menus and late nights behind. He runs a 2,500-square-foot market built on a larger version of the high-end grocery model he developed at Rigor Hill.

Eater's description of what you can buy in one visit gives a sense of the range. You can stop in for a BEC at breakfast, leave with a rib-eye rubbed with confit garlic, pick up mac and cheese for a child, buy dog food made with Hudson Valley trout, and grab a birthday card made from invasive plants. On weekends, Johnson rolls omelets to order, as he did at Rigor Hill.

That list covers breakfast, dinner ingredients, the kids and the dog. It's a shop built for weekday errands, and it sits next door to White Horse Tavern.

What $48 Buys at 435 Hudson

Humm is the casual follow-up from Daniel Humm and the Eleven Madison Park team, which also runs Clemente Bar. The price gap is the easiest way to see how different it is. At Eleven Madison Park the full tasting menu costs $385 per person. Humm's menu is entirely à la carte, and its larger proteins run from $48 to $125. The $125 dish is meant for two people.

The opening menu, according to a spokesperson quoted by Eater NY, includes:

• crispy feta with sesame and shallot agrodolce
• tuna crudo
• chicory and tangerine salad
• fried eggplant with pickled green tomatoes
• grilled fish
• roasted chicken for two
• milk and honey for dessert

A caviar-filled bagel quickly got attention online.

You can sit in three places. The dining room serves the full menu. The bar and the lounge each serve a smaller one. According to Eater NY's October openings roundup, reservations went fast once they opened on October 1. The bar and lounge are another way in for anyone who lives nearby.

Pierre Yovanovitch designed the room. The art includes work by Francesco Clemente and Rashid Johnson, along with pieces by Louise Bourgeois and Roni Horn. For two decades this address was En Japanese Brasserie, which closed in December 2024.

The Two Dinner Rooms That Closed in October

Hudson Street's ties to upstate farms didn't start this fall. Justine's on Hudson opened at 518 Hudson in April 2023, named for owner Justine Rosenthal. According to Village Reader, its wine list came from the importer her father, Neal Rosenthal, founded, and most of the greens on the menu were grown on his Dutchess County farm. The room held about 30 seats. The same report said its final dinner was Saturday, October 17, and that the team has teased something new for the corner. So 518 Hudson may stay in the same hands with a different concept.

Mémé lasted much longer. In its closing announcement, as Eater NY reported, the restaurant looked back on its run this way:

After 16 years "in the most beautiful neighborhood"

Eater's list of what to order there was dirty martinis, spicy margaritas, spritzes and lobster pasta. Mémé's other location, in Hell's Kitchen, is still open.

A Mediterranean corner that lasted 16 years and a 30-seat wine bar that lasted about three both closed within one week. A Hudson Valley market and a restaurant supplied by a Hoosick Falls farm opened 17 days apart. The upstate produce on this stretch now comes through a hospitality group with a tavern next door and a chef from a three-Michelin-star restaurant, where it used to arrive on a single 30-seat room's plates.

How the Stretch Works Now

The day on this stretch now runs mostly north to south. The morning starts at West 11th, where H. Valley sells breakfast sandwiches beside White Horse Tavern, and you can buy a rib-eye there for dinner at home. The big night out is farther south at Leroy, where Humm's bar and lounge serve a shorter menu than the dining room. In between, 518 Hudson is closed and its team has said a new concept is coming. Mémé's corner at Bank and Hudson has been closed since October 24.

If you've been watching Hudson Street change this fall and wondering what those shifts mean for the blocks you know best, The Holt Team is glad to talk it through. We follow the West Village address by address, and we're happy to share what we see. Request a Consultation.