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By Jeanne O’Brien Coffey
Forget everything you thought you knew about food halls. These once-humble hubs have undergone a dramatic transformation in the past few years.
Redesigned and rethought for a post-pandemic world, the new food halls are attracting some of today’s most exciting chefs, becoming foodie destinations in their own right and bustling gathering spaces that feed our craving for community.
There are more than 200 food halls scattered across the U.S., according to industry sources, and nearly as many more in development. The best and buzziest are packed with award-winning chefs and innovative culinary options like upscale twists on beloved street food. Case in point: At High Street Place, a new food hall in Boston, Bubble Bath wine bar pairs a vending machine selling single-serve bottles of Champagne with a bar serving gourmet hot dogs topped with caviar. The quirky combo reflects the signature high-low style of beloved James Beard–nominated Boston chef Tiffani Faison.
Across the country, Proper Eats in Las Vegas is the only place in the U.S. where guests can dine on an addictively crispy fried chicken that’s all the rage in London right now. And in Olly Olly Market in New York City, diners are lining up for the scallion pancake burritos at Forsyth Fire Escape, so named because its founders first served their signature Chinese/Thai/ Dominican fusion treat via a bucket lowered from a fire escape in Chinatown during the pandemic.
LOCAL AND GLOBAL
A far cry from the mall food court lined with national chains serving generic pizza and burgers, today’s top food halls showcase local chefs, dishes, and restaurants. A number are housed in unique buildings that have been renovated but retain a sense of place and history.
“Guests can really get a taste of all that Boston has to offer under one roof,” says Lauren Johnson, marketplace manager for High Street Place, which also houses local favorites like Mamaleh’s Delicatessen, burger champion Wheelhouse, and craft cocktail bar Daiquiris and Daisies.
That’s also the approach at Anaheim’s Packing House, situated in a historic citrus-packing plant that dates from 1919. Here, diners can find everything from Syrian food at Mangal to soul food at Georgia’s Kitchen, and even Cajun specialties at 206 BCE.
Looking east to Florida, Shoma Bazaar just outside Miami skips from Persian street food to Venezuelan arepas—options that befit a famously international city and give visitors a chance to do some culinary globe-trotting.
SPICE OF LIFE
Food halls make it easy for friends and families to socialize over a meal because groups don’t have to agree on one particular restaurant to enjoy dinner or drinks together, notes Andy Masi, founder of Clique Hospitality, which operates Proper Eats, the celebrated Las Vegas food hall that replaced the buffet at Aria Resort and Casino this past December. Proper Eats boasts a showstopping array of dining options, from the only Wexler’s Deli outside Los Angeles to (soon) the hotly anticipated Seoul Bird.
“It’s difficult to pinpoint what will stand out in such an array of impressive culinary offerings,” says Masi, “but three I’m excited for people to taste are Seoul Bird’s signature Seoul chicken sandwich, the Reuben from Wexler’s Deli, and Shalom Y’all’s chicken shawarma.”
The options are just as eclectic at the Tin Building by Jean-Georges. The visionary behind them is the eponymous Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The 53,000-square-foot restored landmark building at the Seaport in Lower Manhattan houses everything from the Pâtisserie, where you can pick up banana and poppy seed cookies, to elaborate candy store The Spoiled Parrot, serving made-to-order ice cream, international sweets, and high-end chocolate.
In addition to vast culinary offerings, including six full-service restaurants, the space offers interactive experiences. You’ll find a tarot card reader tucked away in the upscale Chinese eatery House of The Red Pearl, a portrait artist at plant-based Seeds & Weeds eatery, and frequent live performers in the central Market.
Design, too, is getting elevated twists at many new food halls. Secluded nooks provide privacy for those who want to get some work done, lounge-style seating invites groups to linger over drinks, and outdoor space provides an alternative in many seasons for those with social distancing and air quality in mind.
CRAVING FOR COMMUNITY
Blending innovative experiences with inviting, updated interiors and, of course, unique cuisine is key to the success of today’s new culinary collectives, says Tim Wickes, director of food hall operations at Olly Olly Market in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. Chicago- based hospitality collective 16” on Center, which operates Olly Olly Market, is rooted in operating music venues and sees mixing great food with entertainment as the logical next step. Thus, alongside eateries like Forsyth Fire Escape and DdoBar, serving Korean pastries by a Michelin-starred chef, Olly Olly Market has large-scale permanent art installations and a rotating expo space that will be programmed with a variety of music-, fashion-, and art-driven events. “Any day of the week, our goal is [to have people] thinking, ‘What am I missing at Olly Olly Market today?’” Wickes says.
The fact that food halls frequently occupy underused retail and office space yields opportunity in the form of sheer physical footage, says High Street’s Johnson. Her food hall was crafted from a five-story atrium connecting two office buildings. Having that much room allowed people to run soccer drills during last year’s World Cup while High Street broadcast the games on Boston’s largest LED TV. For the U.S. Open this summer, the market will set out putting greens.
By mixing entertainment with tasty cuisine, Johnson says she believes the new generation of food halls is concocting a winning recipe to feed our post-pandemic craving for community. “I have had office tenants say, ‘Thank you for bringing my social life back again. We missed it for so long because everybody was working from home,’” she says. “People are really hungry to get together again.”
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