Sorry, foodies, the most exclusive new eatery may be the Subway shop that's operating at the World Trade Center site. You basically have to be a member—of a union, that is—to gain access to the Subway sandwich shop that's opened up in the under-construction 1 World Trade Center (here's a glimpse of it from a few months ago). It was lifted up last December and will be elevated higher and higher as construction continues—up until the 105th floor.
The unique on-site shop was opened because workers' 30-minute lunch time actually run longer with workers waiting for construction elevators to ferry them up and down. The NY Times visited and found "Richard Schragger, an accountant turned restaurant franchise owner, stood behind the cash register offering free cookies to his burly patrons on the first day of business." Shragger, who was "visibly nervous in a structure seemingly hanging in midair," may later add lasagna, burgers and hot dogs to the menu, and maybe even Papa John's pizza.
The contractor apparently looked at eight other companies as potential operators, but a local deli that "won hands down based on taste" wasn't able to work under the unique conditions: "Subway won on the basis of its business and financial plan."
Update: The Subway at the WTC closed in January of 2012. Steel erector company DCM's Bill Grutta says the Subway in the sky was worth it, "It means we saved 90 rides on the hoist a day," but offered an opinion about the fare: "The Subway food is fine. But these guys like something off the grill. They like a greasy steak sandwich or a greasy hamburger with fries." Here's what it was like:
