IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 52

INSIDER INTEL |

What's Next

The Future of

FOOD HALLS
INDUSTRY QUICK TAKE:
Garrick Brown, vice president, retail intelligence for the Americas,
Cushman & Wakefield, Rancho Cordova, California, USA
PERSPECTIVE: Why is design crucial to the success of food halls (a
curated collection of artisan restaurants, butcher shops, and other
specialized food-oriented boutiques)?
BROWN: Now that the concept has become so popular, there are some who want to

Design is critical
because it's about
creating a sense of
community in your
space-creating
linger-able space.

-Garrick Brown

300

The number of food halls
expected to be open in the
U.S. by the end of 2020.

10,000- to 50,000square feet
The typical size of a
food hall in the U.S.

Source: Food Halls of North America 2018, Cushman & Wakefield

perspective

iida.org/perspective

PERSPECTIVE: How does design help to attract vendors?
BROWN: You're dealing with small-stall space; they get down as low

as 200 square feet (19 square meters). So creating this space in a way to
maximize efficiencies for your vendors is critical. And there are supertight margins. The average type of food vendor at a food hall is fast casual.
Their typical ticket per guest is usually about $15, and that doesn't give
you a lot of room for high margins. It's really critical to keep the expenses
and the rents low, and part of that is making the most of your common
space. Perhaps it makes sense to have shared freezer space or storage
space. In some cases, I've even seen layouts where they have shared flat
tops, actual grills that the two vendors share. It makes it a lot easier to
reduce the rent and lower the expenses to the vendor so they
are profitable.
PERSPECTIVE: How do you think the food hall trend will
continue to expand?
BROWN: There's going to be a slew of projects that are inspired by a food hall, but

that take a different model. For example, Eataly technically is not a food hall. It's a
single proprietor that has multiple eating stations, but it's all under the control of
one group. Everyone wants to be the new Eataly, and I expect to see concepts rising
with the desire to be the Eataly of Chinese food or of any number of ethnic cuisines.
And there's a bunch of operators trying to get projects going in malls. One of
the most notable is Westfield's World Trade Center, which opened two years
ago. There's no department store there-the anchors are the Apple Store and
Eataly. The idea that a food hall-inspired concept or even a food hall could be your
anchor is something that mall owners are watching. They see the potential there.
That's where you're going to see the concept really spread to suburban markets
across the country.

Photo by: Casey Dunn

The Fareground, the first food hall in
Austin, Texas, USA, opened in January.

jump in and take an old food court and do nothing more than switch out hot dogs on
a stick or some other fast food concept for a food truck concept, and they think they
can call it a food hall. The reality is there are three big components for modern food
halls: design, tenanting, and operations.
Design is critical because it's about creating a sense of community in your
space-creating linger-able space. The old food court model was just about form and
function. I've known mall developers in the past that made it a point to make their
food courts purely functional as to almost be uncomfortable simply because they
wanted people shopping. Because of the retail sector's troubles in the last couple of
years-the heightened level of bankruptcy and closures-landlords are realizing the
importance of food, especially because millennial consumers seem more willing to
spend money on experiences than stuff. They come out in force for cool food halls
and for entertainment-related retail concepts. Creating a cool space is all part of that
experience, which is why design is critical in food halls.

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