F&F Pizzeria Will Open Its First Manhattan Spot in an Upcoming Food Hall

A Texas-based food hall company has teamed up with Amazon to open Shaver Hall next year, a 35,000 square-foot space at 424-434 Fifth Avenue, between West 38th and 39th streets, in the Hank Building. The hall will feature two restaurants, two bars, and 11 stalls, one of which will be the newly signed F&F Pizzeria: It will be the second location of the Carroll Gardens pizza spot from the Franks, Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli.

“Bringing F&F to Manhattan has been a dream for us, but we wanted to do it right” says Castronovo in a statement. “With Shaver Hall and the Food Hall Co. behind it, we knew this was the perfect opportunity to make that move.” The owners confirm they’ll be serving a menu of their pizzas, small sides, and salads as well as beer and wine. The Food Hall Co. behind the project is Dallas-based with locations in Nashville and Plano, Texas.

Other New York City vendors at Shaver Hall include Chick Chick, a new location of the Upper West Side Korean fried chicken spot from chef Jun Park, and another spot from Taqueria Al Pastor, the Bushwick restaurant from Pedro Ramales that opened in 2020.

Shaver Hall will reside in what at one time had been the Lord & Taylor flagship, which closed after over 100 years in 2019. The food hall is named for the trailblazing president of Lord & Taylor, Dorothy Shaver, the force behind the rise of the department store, mid-century. Amazon opened its corporate offices, called Hank, in 2023. Starrett & van Vleck designed the 11-story landmarked building which broke ground in 1914.

The Franks announced in June that their Carroll Gardens pizzeria is expanding. It’s taking over nearby Franks Wine Bar, at 465 Court Street, at Luquer Street, on track to open next month. Plans are also in the works to open multiple locations in New York and beyond. The original location of F&F Pizzeria, at 459 Court Street, at Fourth Place, will become a slice shop as opposed to the sit-down restaurant that will offer sides, salads, whole pies, and an interesting wine list in the spirit of the former wine bar. The expansion correlates with the 20th anniversary on September 13 of nearby flagship Frankies 457 Spuntino.

In addition to helming Frankie’s Spuntino and F&F, Castronovo and Falcinelli have made their mark with their olive oil empire, Frankies 457, sold in every Whole Foods in North America. They have recently expanded the range of products to include pasta. In 2023, the Franks opened locations in Nashville, first with the Pizzeria, followed by Frankies 925 Spuntino, and coffee and specialty market, the Bottega. Before Franks Wine Bar, the space housed Prime Meats for nine years. Their Manhattan restaurant, Frankies 17, closed in 2012 after seven years. They also ran Frankies 570 Spuntino for ten years. That location is now Anton’s from Nick Anderer and Natalie Johnson, in which the Franks are minority owners.