"Oh no. No, no, no newspaper!" Luca Meacci told Curbed this summer. The reporter had asked whether his café near Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street would ever sell a print edition. She pressed him on it. "Zero, zero, zero," he said.
His café, Caffé Toscana, runs out of the old Bryant Park newsstand at that corner, and it now sells espresso, pastries and sandwiches. At the other end of the same block, the newsstand at Sixth Avenue became a Little Biggs sandwich shop in August. Both happened because of who controls these two kiosks, and the same pattern explains a lot of what's new on the blocks around the park this fall.
Why These Two Newsstands Can Sell What Others Can't
Most sidewalk newsstands in New York operate under city rules last updated in 2013. Those rules still require periodicals and prohibit selling anything that costs more than $10, according to Curbed's reporting. That's why most stands carry the same candy, soda, chips and lottery tickets.
A small number of newsstands fall under the Parks Department instead, and Parks sets its own rules. That exception is why Caffé Toscana can sell an $11 sandwich.
The Bryant Park Corporation used that exception on purpose. Dan Pisark, the park's VP of retail services, told Curbed the park wanted fresher food at its newsstand. The park put out a call for proposals, and eight local businesses applied with ideas that ranged from a souvlaki stand to a macaron shop. The park chose Meacci because he had already run its Casa Toscana kiosk inside Bryant Park for more than a year.
The conversion was a real buildout. Meacci told Curbed he spent $150,000 on the renovation. He replaced the newspaper racks with custom display cases and put in two beverage coolers, an air conditioner, an espresso machine and a sink, with Bryant Park providing the water hookup. He also said daily sales grew more than fivefold after launch at a corner that faces a subway entrance and the New York Public Library.
The Parks Department's chief of concessions told Curbed that three more Parks newsstands are slated to become food-and-beverage stands. They're on Verdi Square, at Sixth Avenue and West 4th Street, and at Union Square. Bryant Park went first, so its two corners are where you can see the model working now.
The Block Between the Two Corners
The Sixth Avenue stand opened as Little Biggs on Saturday, Aug. 8, at 2 W. 42nd St. Eater NY reported it brought over the mini-chain's food-hall lineup, including eggy burritos, a crispy chicken Caesar wrap and vodka chicken Parm. Little Biggs comes from Little Food Co., the group behind Dos Pasos and City Chik.
With both corners converted, the 42nd Street side of the park now has a café at each end. The other openings this fall are spread along the park's southern and western edges.
| Spot | Address | What it is | Status as of Oct. 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caffé Toscana | Fifth Ave. at 42nd St. newsstand | Espresso, pastries, premade sandwiches | Open since early summer 2026 |
| Little Biggs | 2 W. 42nd St., at Sixth Ave. | Sandwiches, wraps, breakfast burritos | Open since Aug. 8 |
| Fönn | 22 W. 40th St., inside Talea | Icelandic-style skyr bowls, smoothies, toasted sandwiches | Launched late September |
| Piadi by La Piadineria | 1040 Sixth Ave., near W. 39th St. | Italian piadina sandwiches | Eater reported a Sept. 23 opening |
| One Bryant Park and Kumiko Room | 135 W. 42nd St. | Kaiseki and Edomae sushi | Scheduled for Oct. 15 |
| Kappo Sono | 135 W. 42nd St. | Kaiseki counter | Scheduled for Nov. 18 |
Fönn shares its space on West 40th Street, facing the park's south side, with the taproom Talea. According to Eater NY's September roundup, the café's drinks program starts at 7:30 a.m. with Devoción coffee and matcha, and Talea's beer comes in later in the day. Its announcement gave late September as the launch, and by early October Fönn's own site listed the 22 W. 40th St. location with hours and online ordering. A block south, Piadi is the second New York location for La Piadineria, according to the same Eater roundup.
All four of the open spots are quick-service. Expensive dining around the park is arriving this week, in a single building.
The Opening at the Base of the Bank of America Tower
At 135 W. 42nd St., restaurateur KwangHo Lee of Listen & Feel is opening three separate Japanese restaurants in a 10,000-square-foot space inside the Bank of America Tower. Cititour reported on Oct. 10 that the flagship, One Bryant Park, and the sushi room Kumiko Room are scheduled to open Oct. 15. Kappo Sono is slated for Nov. 18.
The date has moved before. Eater's spring preview in March 2026 listed a May opening. Treat Oct. 15 as the current schedule until the doors actually open.
Here's how the three rooms differ:
- One Bryant Park is the flagship. Culinary director Tadaaki Ishizaki, formerly of Odo, and executive chef Shuji Furukawa are building eight seasonal kaiseki menus based on Japan's 72 microseasons, with a focus on Japanese dry-aged beef and a separate bar.
- Kumiko Room serves mostly nigiri under executive chef Yoshihiko Kousaka, known for his work at Kosaka and Jewel Bako. It has a 14-seat counter and 20 seats at nearby tables.
- Kappo Sono is chef Chikara Sono's counter. Its menu changes about every two weeks, following Japan's traditional 24-season calendar.
Each restaurant takes its own reservations, and Resy is already booking One Bryant Park and Kumiko Room.
Put the two ends of 42nd Street side by side and the range is wide. There's an $11 sandwich from a converted newsstand at Fifth Avenue and a multicourse kaiseki menu at the base of a tower near Sixth.
Two Weeks of the Park as Usual
The Winter Village rink, free to skate, opens Wednesday, Oct. 28, at noon, and runs through Feb. 28, 2027. The Holiday Shops open the same day at noon and stay through Jan. 3, 2027. From Nov. 19 to Jan. 3, rink hours stretch to midnight.
Until then, the park's own calendar is still on its regular fall schedule. Here's what's listed between now and opening day:
- Today, Oct. 12. A Park Tour and the Art Cart workshop "Gouache Still Life."
- Oct. 13. Art Cart "Relief Printmaking."
- Weekdays through Oct. 27. Juggling Classes.
- Oct. 19 and Oct. 26. Park Tours.
- Daily. Le Carrousel runs through the weeks of Oct. 11, Oct. 18 and Oct. 25. Games are set up at the 40th Street Plaza with free equipment.
The Reading Room is already done for the year. Its lending season runs April through September. The park hasn't posted a date for closing the lawn for rink setup. Its lawn page says hours and closures vary and points visitors to the daily lawn message.
A Walk That Ends at the Clouds
For one loop through the new places, start with coffee at Caffé Toscana on the Fifth Avenue corner. Walk west along 42nd Street to Little Biggs at Sixth. Then go south past Fönn on West 40th and Piadi near 39th.
Keep going west to Broadway. The Garment District Alliance has installed "Clouds" on the Broadway plazas between 39th and 40th Streets: six sculptures up to 33 feet tall by Swiss artist Olaf Breuning, made of steel and aluminum, according to Patch. They're free to see and stay up through March 2027.
For a drink on the way back east, the Brandy Library team opened Dram Central at 14 E. 44th St., near Madison Avenue, on Aug. 7. Eater NY described it as having a back-lit bar stocked with the whiskeys the Tribeca lounge is known for.
If you live or work around Bryant Park and are thinking about whether a Midtown condo or a quick commute from Queens makes more sense, Elaine Tian can lay out the numbers for each block and building you're considering, in English or Chinese. Schedule a free consultation, and you'll have answers before the rink opens on Oct. 28.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
