Picture a day spa, and you might imagine an ’80s movie heroine: hair swirled up in a towel, a plush robe tied around her waist, cucumbers on her eyes, and a pair of manicurists lacquering each set of talons. The apt word here is pampering, yes, but there’s an undercurrent of efficiency—all the beautifying rituals in a single place for maximum unwind. What is the present-day equivalent, then, in an age that prizes peak wellness? The answer might look something like Clean Market, a new health destination that just opened in Manhattan. Here, a leisurely visit could start with a subarctic blast in the cryotherapy chamber, then segue into an infrared sauna for a meditative thaw, and wind up in a lounge chair for a vitamin-packed IV drip. There are still robes (by Parachute); cucumbers, too—only those come blended into a made-to-order smoothie. CBD is optional. (And for sale.)
Lily Kunin—whose blog, Clean Food Dirty City, spawned a cookbook last year—is the creative force behind Clean Market.Photo: Courtesy of Clean Market
“I really wanted to create an oasis that brought you away from the hustle and bustle of New York City and offered multiple wellness products and services under one roof,” says Lily Kunin, the health coach and mastermind behind Clean Market. A Los Angeles native who moved east this past January, she gives off an even-keel warmth that seems out of sync with someone putting the finishing touches on her first-ever storefront. What to ascribe it to? It could be the repeat doses of cryo (a perk of the job) that have left her with “more energy, better sleep, and a boost in mood,” she reports. Or the swirl of powdered RelaxMax—an Xymogen supplement designed for stress management—that she mixes into her water every morning. And then there’s the daily matcha, supercharged with grass-fed collagen, locally made cashew milk, and a rotating mix of adaptogens. “I’ve been feeling Moon Juice’s Power Dust these days,” she says, referring to the cult herbal blends out of L.A.; the brand has partnered with Clean Market for its first functional latte bar on the East Coast.
The shop’s neon sign doubles as a road map for the well-stocked supplement wall, which includes CBD tinctures, vitamin-C gels, and probiotics.Photo: Courtesy of Clean Market
Following in Kunin’s health-minded footsteps is easy, because it’s all on offer. Up front, near the glowing neon sign that reads like a cosmic shopping list (Energy, Flow, check, check), begins the deep dive into ingestibles. There are familiar favorites, including Beauty Chef’s skin-boosting powders, tiny squeeze packets of Lypo-Spheric vitamin C, and glass vials of the marine elixir Quinton, along with jars of coconut butter from the downtown kindred spirit in wellness, CAP Beauty. But the prized cache here are the medical-grade supplements, which are backed by clinicals and can only be stocked by an M.D. (The storefront has a medical doctor on staff through NutriDrip, the in-house IV service.) Kunin rattles off a few essentials: the Metagenics PhytoMulti, B Activ by Xymogen, a forthcoming probiotic by Designs for Health “specifically formulated for your gut-brain axis,” she says, and a Thorne hemp oil so popular it’s back-ordered.
Across the room, takeaway meals by Daily Dose service the fitness-minded neighbors (SoulCycle on one side, Equinox on the other) and also echo how Kunin got her start in the health industry. After spending her teenage years grappling with crushing migraines and vertigo, she wound her way through traditional and alternative medicine before nixing gluten—a dietary change that, rather miraculously, worked. “That was the moment where I was like, Wow. What we do and what we’re eating and how we’re using our body has such an effect on how we feel,” she says. She launched a blog (Clean Food Dirty City), which spawned a cookbook (Good Clean Food), and got her health-coach credentials along the way—skills that all come together in the refreshing, deeply nourishing smoothie recipes served at the bar. The Majik takes its color cue from blueberries and E3Live; The Pines tempers the peppery anti-inflammatory roots turmeric and ginger with pineapple, mango, and coconut milk. But Kunin calls The Core her favorite: a quencher of a recipe designed for the inevitable heat waves ahead. Make it yourself with the how-to, below. Or swing uptown for a summer cooler—paired, if you’re so inclined, with a flash-freeze in the cryo chamber.
The Core smoothie, blended with hydrating ingredients like coconut water and cucumber, is a summer standby.Photo: Courtesy of Clean Market
The Core
Ingredients
10 oz. coconut water
⅓ cup frozen banana
½ frozen pear
Handful of frozen baby kale
Handful of frozen baby spinach
1 small Persian cucumber (or 3-inch English cucumber)
Squeeze of lemon (1 tsp.)
Scoop of ice
Blend all ingredients until well combined.