SLIDESHOW: The Evolution of the Food Hall

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The food and beverage category continues to thrive in today’s retail climate. More and more consumers are dining out, which is increasing popularity among centers with sit-down and fast-casual restaurant tenants. Those thoughts are according to Richard Birdoff, principal and president of RD Management, who recently chatted with GlobeSt.com about all things retail. According to Birdoff, consumers enjoy the unique experiences many restaurants offer such as pop-up eateries and beer gardens, themed bars, food halls, and group dining events. “These ‘experiential’ food and beverage concepts draw patrons out of their homes, eager to capture shareable moments on their social media channels. Across the board, brick-and-mortar retailers that can provide an experience will continue to compete with online retailers and attract millennials and Generation Zers,” he said.
On the topic of food halls, Cushman & Wakefield’s Garrick Brown, VP of the Americas and head of retail research, recently also put out a food halls report, which said that what began as a trend that was largely relegated to just a few markets, has since exploded. When C&W first reported on the food hall movement, the concept was still in its infancy. At the time GlobeSt.com previously reported that food halls were largely divided into two basic camps; larger projects—often in historic, transit-oriented locales or smaller, mostly chef-driven concepts—almost all of which were located in Manhattan and just a handful of other American cities.
Brown’s report points out that “Just as consumer behavior, eCommerce and bricks-and-mortar retail are evolving at a breakneck pace, so too is the food hall movement.” In the report, he explores the most noteworthy trends in food hall development including expansion into different types of CRE, the impact of branding, space design, integrating entertainment elements and much more.
“When we first began tracking this phenomena in 2016, there were roughly 120 projects across the country. That number is on track to nearly quadruple, with 450 food halls expected to be operational throughout the US,” he says. “By the end of 2020. At a time when headlines about the retail sector remain dominated by stories of closures and bankruptcies, food halls have emerged as one of the hottest growth trends.”
Malls, college campuses and suburban office campuses are currently seeing action with a new roster of players emerging beyond the chef-driven concepts and handful of food hall venue operators that largely pioneered this movement, Brown says. “Meanwhile, the drive to offer heightened experiences for consumers is also intensifying.”
Take a look at the details slideshow above for some key research from the Cushman & Wakefield food hall report.
By: Natalie Dolce (GlobeSt)
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