Target has opened an in-store snack bar at its SoHo location in New York City, a grab-and-go counter stocked with quick bites from emerging brands such as Wilde and Cadootz. Shoppers hoping for a place to sit will be disappointed: the snack bar has no tables or chairs, the New York Post reported on Nov. 3, which sets it well apart from the food court at Costco.
The bodega-style section is part of a makeover of the lower level of the Broadway store, and for now it exists only in SoHo. None of the reports on the opening say whether the idea will travel to any other Target stores.
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What the SoHo Snack Bar Sells
According to The Shelby Report, which covered the store’s completed transformation on Oct. 23, the Snack Bar brings New York streetscapes indoors and sells grab-and-go items from emerging brands arranged as neighborhood-inspired stops. The trade publication named Wilde Brands and Cadootz among them.
The New York Post framed the counter as Target’s answer to the warehouse-club food court, while noting the key difference: the snack bar will not have tables and chairs. The Post described the area as a bodega-style section rolled out as part of the store’s rebrand, offering quick bites rather than plated food.
A separate Seasonal Shopping Bar rotates sweet and savory items from Favorite Day, Target’s own food brand, through a changing seasonal lineup, the report said. The rest of the lower level holds home goods, toys and personal care areas.
The setup leans on browsing rather than lingering. Shoppers pick up a snack and keep going, the way a corner store works, rather than settling in for a meal. A counter with no seats depends on that quick turnover, and on the same small courtesy shown by people who always return their shopping cart. It is a familiar retail idea, and a cousin of the delivery-first ghost kitchens that have reshaped how restaurants think about space: food without the dining room.
For visitors already in the neighborhood, the stop fits easily into a day of free or cheap things to do in New York City, since browsing costs nothing and a single snack is a small purchase.
Why the Costco Comparison Comes Up
Big-box food service has a clear benchmark, and it is Costco. The warehouse club sells a quarter-pound beef hot dog and a 20-ounce drink for $1.50, a price it has held since 1985, according to the Wikipedia entry on Costco. The company began making its own hot dogs under the Kirkland Signature label in 2009 to keep that price, and chief executive Ron Vachris reaffirmed the $1.50 combo in a July 2024 interview, the entry says.
The New York Post noted that Costco remains the place for that $1.50 hot dog and soda. Its food courts are built for a sit-down break, with seating at many warehouses, and the combo has become a cultural shorthand for value, a status shared by plenty of budget foods that even wealthy diners still eat.
Target is not chasing that model in SoHo. There is no hot food counter in the reports, no combo and no seating. The snack bar sells packaged items from smaller brands, which puts it closer to a convenience shelf than a cafeteria.
A Food Market Built Into a Concept Store
Grocery Dive reported on Oct. 27 that the food and beverage area focuses on everyday grocery staples, with red accents, white-and-gray checkered floors and freestanding display cases of varying heights in place of traditional dry goods aisles. Target’s announcement described the space as turning the most familiar staples of a grocery run into moments of discovery, the outlet reported.
Michelle Mesenburg, Target’s chief brand officer, said the renovation brings the “joy of discovery to every corner of the store,” according to Grocery Dive. The company plans to add SoHo-exclusive products, collectibles and experiences in 2027.
Swapping long aisles for freestanding displays is a merchandising choice grocers make to keep shoppers moving past fresh and packaged food, part of the same playbook that shapes what a large retailer will do with its unsold produce. In a store this size, every display case has to earn its floor space.
The store at 600 Broadway opened in its reimagined form in December 2025, when Target billed it as a design-forward, shoppable concept store. In its Dec. 9, 2025, announcement, the company said café and event programming would follow in 2026 and beyond. The snack bar is the food piece of that plan arriving.
What It Means for Shoppers Outside New York
For now, nothing changes at the typical suburban Target. The Post reported that the bodega-style section is only in the SoHo location, and none of the trade reports mention plans to roll it out more widely.
The store does work as a test lab, however. The Shelby Report described it as a testing ground for future Target formats, noting that Target runs 109 stores in New York state, including more than 40 in New York City, and more than 2,000 across the country. Retailers watch these experiments closely, and a format that works in one high-traffic store can turn up elsewhere once the numbers come in.
The SoHo food area also arrives as Target leans on style and novelty to bring shoppers through the door. The Shelby Report said apparel and accessories are the store’s top-performing category and that nearly two-thirds of consumers aware of the store say it makes Target feel more stylish. Food is the newest piece of that pitch, offered as a quick stop between racks rather than a destination of its own.
Whether the idea spreads will depend on how SoHo shoppers respond. Target has said only that more SoHo-only products and experiences are coming in 2027. Until then, the snack bar remains a one-store experiment on Broadway, and Costco’s food court keeps its hold on the cheap sit-down hot dog.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Ser Amantio di Nicolao – CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons
