Why Focus on Food Halls?
Public markets help foster social engagement in a community [12, 13, 15, 16]. However, traditional public markets are declining [9, 10, 12-16]. We, therefore, need to look for new ways to repurpose traditional public markets, while at the same time continuing their role of enhancing social engagement.
Traditional public markets are covered building structures which offer fresh produce and fresh meat, poultry, and seafood [11, 16, 12, 13]. Market vendors sell from small stalls which are arranged in a grid pattern. These markets are usually open early in the morning and closed by early afternoon. Traditional markets generally do not offer prepared food, arts & crafts, or other food-related retail items.
Farmer’s Market, Cubao, Philippines
Traditional public market offering fresh produce
FARMER’S MARKET, CUBAO, PHILIPPINES
TRADITIONAL PUBLIC MARKET WITH FRESH MEAT, SEAFOOD, & FRUIT STALLS
Traditional public markets are declining because of: (1) suburbanization [10, 12]; (2) changes in food distribution systems [9, 10]; (3) changing consumer behavior [7, 10, 13]; and (4) market forces [10, 15, 16]. Traditional public markets need to be re-planned and re-purposed, to address the changing lifestyle and purchasing habits of their target market [12, 15, 16].
For example, modern public markets have reconfigured their product mix to include “specialty” prepared food, artisanal food items, arts & crafts, and other food-related retail items. Modern public markets usually keep a portion of their product mix for fresh produce and meat section. However, they collaborate with farms and nonprofits to enhance the local and organic sourcing of their products.
GRANVILLE MARKET, VANCOUVER
REPURPOSED PUBLIC MARKET, OFFERING ARTISAN AND PREPARED FOOD ITEMS
Food Halls Versus Traditional Public Markets
Food halls are covered structures which offer a variety of authentic and specialty prepared food items. They are unlike traditional markets, which only sell fresh produce and food items which need to be cooked [4, 17]. In food halls, bought food can be eaten on-site, in centralized seating areas. Like traditional market vendors, food hall vendors sell from small stalls which are arranged in a grid pattern. Food hall stalls usually do not have ceilings or walls and have minimal kitchen facilities.
IMAGES OF FOOD HALL STALLS
AROUND THE WORLD
Traditional markets which are re-purposed and modernized (i.e., modern public markets) usually include a food hall, together with a fresh produce section, artisanal food items, other food retail products, and arts & crafts stalls [1, 4].
The Food Hall Trend
Food halls deserve our attention because of trending consumer preference for unique food experience and a clear market uptrend in the number of food halls being established around the country [3, 4, 6, 8, 17]. Cushman & Wakefield’s special report on food halls projected that the number of food halls in the United States will triple in size, from only a little over 100 in 2017 to 300 by 2020 [4]. The Urban Land Institute cited food halls as one of the new ways by which real estate companies have incorporated food and its important role of increasing social interaction, in the communities that they build [3].
Some of the better-known food halls around the country are in historical buildings which have been preserved and redeveloped by cities, as part of their community redevelopment initiatives. These include the Ferry Terminal building in San Francisco, the Pike Place Market in Seattle, the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, the Grand Central Market in Los Angeles, and the Findlay Market in Cincinnati.
FERRY TERMINAL BUILDING, SAN FRANCISCO
IMAGES OF FOOD HALL CORRIDORS & BUILDING FACADE
Most of the food halls that we will use as examples on this website are food halls that we have personally visited and experienced. These include:
Boqueria Market, Barcelona
Granville Market, Vancouver
Market! Market!, Manila / BGC
Markthalle, Basel
Newton Hawker Centre, Singapore
Or Tor Kor Market, Bangkok
Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia
Union Market, Washington D.C.
To further explore all the articles which discuss each of the above food halls, please click on each of the individual food hall links.
Granville Public Market
Food hall section offering freshly cooked bagels
Defining Food Halls
The concept behind newer planned food halls is to bring under one roof a variety of food-related proprietors [3, 4, 17]. Food halls offer a variety of “specialty” prepared food items, which are usually unique, authentic, and ethnic in terms of origin (e.g., Mexican empanadas, Korean fusion tacos, grilled Peruvian chicken peri-peri, or a variety of fresh oyster appetizers).
EXAMPLES OF UNIQUE, AUTHENTIC, AND ETHNIC FOOD OFFERING
VARIOUS FOOD HALLS
Food halls usually have an adjacent fresh produce market, with emphasis on farm-fresh ingredients, organic produce, or specialty produce which are not found in typical grocery stores (e.g., different kinds of mushroom, Asian fruits, Latin American vegetables, etc.). Food hall vendors and stalls are usually local or come from within a certain nearby geographic region.
FRESH PRODUCE SECTION
VARIOUS FOOD HALLS
Food halls offer artisanal food items to take home, like cheese, charcuterie, wine, olive oil, honey, and coffee. Larger food halls offer food-related retail outlets for items like kitchen gadgets, cookbooks, herbs & spices, etc.
ARTISANAL ITEMS TO TAKE HOME
VARIOUS FOOD HALLS
Larger food halls have fresh meat, poultry, and seafood stalls.
MEAT AND SEAFOOD STALLS
VARIOUS FOOD HALLS
They also have diners, bars, or small restaurants which have additional seating around the kitchen counter.
ADDITIONAL SEATING AROUND THE COUNTER AND IN SMALL RESTAURANTS
VARIOUS FOOD HALLS
They may also provide for day or temporary stalls to accommodate vendors who are starting their business and local arts, craft, & retail.
ARTS, CRAFTS, & OTHER RETAIL ITEMS
VARIOUS FOOD HALLS
There are a variety of food halls. In the Cushman & Wakefield inventory of food halls, they classified food halls into: (1) food halls which are part of larger modern public markets; (2) stand-alone food halls; and (3) mini-food halls [4].
Differentiating Food Halls versus Food Courts
The Cushman & Wakefield study differentiated food halls from food courts in commercial malls. The study clarified that food courts usually offer prepared food items by fast-food companies and regular food court proprietors [4]. Food courts offer dining convenience to shoppers, who are in the malls primarily for shopping. Food halls, on the other hand, offer a “celebration of food” where the food experience is the primary objective [3, 4, 17].
Critical Success Factors of Food Halls
Despite the popularity of food halls, there have been some new ones which have closed, just a year or two after opening. One critical success factor identified in the success of a food hall is the authenticity of the food offering [1, 4, 17]. This is clearly linked to the main reason why people go to food halls, which is to sample different types of food experience and to also give each person in the group a chance to choose from the variety of food offering [3-5].
Another success factor is the variety of interactive social experience while shopping and dining [3, 4, 17]. US consumers prefer food halls because of the added opportunity it provides for social engagement. Most food halls offer communal seating and open layout, increasing opportunities for social interaction.
In terms of physical ambiance, food halls try to retain & enhance the ambiance of the original building, if they were set up in rehabilitated places like old terminals, post office buildings, and public markets [3, 4, 17]. In newer building structures, food halls work on designing a unique experience to encourage people to take pictures and share on social media, shop leisurely, and dine comfortably [3, 4, 17]. Lastly, successful food halls provide for spaces where public events, activities, and temporary markets can pop up [3, 4]. These spaces ensure additional foot traffic and increase the chances for people to revisit the food halls.
Granville Public Market
Food hall section with preserved original wooden posts
The Changing Consumer
Behind the increasing popularity of food halls are the changing needs and interests of the consumers [2, 5]. Food halls bring in the foot traffic because today’s consumers value the experience which comes from partaking of food which is unique, authentic, and served in a creatively designed environment
The Culinary Visions Panel is a US-based market research agency which identifies and analyzes food trends and insights among consumers. Their “2017 Food Market Culture Report” concluded that food culture is widespread among US consumers, regardless of age [5]. 85% of respondents to this survey said that they like to go to events and festivals which are food related. Respondents identified food halls and farmers markets as their preferred types of food experience. The report also highlighted that respondents enjoy being able to combine dining with socialization and shopping, all three activities of which are provided by a food hall. Of the surveyed respondents, 60% identified shopping for food as a favorite activity in food markets. 57% identified the enjoyment of the social activity in visiting a food market as an important corollary activity to the shopping.
As we see traditional public markets decline, we need to look for ways to re-purpose public markets or replace them with other kinds of public food places which continue to encourage social engagement in communities. Food halls bring people together because they offer a unique food, shopping, & socializing experience which delivers on the changing lifestyle needs of the community. With the right design and programming, food calls can continue the role of traditional public markets in enhancing community social engagement.
The Need for a Reference Guide for Food Halls
All of the studies generated on social engagement in public places recognize the complexity and diversity of this phenomenon. The various social concepts of “third places,” “public familiarity,” “light social interaction,” and “cosmopolitan canopies” introduce different levels of social engagement in public spaces.
Despite the strong link which has been established between public markets and social interaction, most of the studies recognize the complexity of this phenomenon. The same studies recommend the need for more studies, to further understand social interaction in public markets, as it applies to different physical spaces and location. Multiple studies have also focused on the problems faced by traditional public markets, which have led to its historical decline.
There is a need to analyze and collate relevant studies, guidelines, resources, and successful case studies on food halls and evaluate them as a re-purposed type of public market. The guide materials in this website will focus on the role of food halls in providing opportunities for social engagement within a community.
Sources:
Montserrat Crespi-Vallbona and Darko Dimitrovski, 'Urban Food Markets in the Context of a Tourist Attraction: La Boqueria Market in Barcelona Spain', Tourism Geographies, 20 (2018), 397-417.
'Culinary Visions 2019 Trend Forecast', (Culinary Visions Panel 2019).
'Cultivating Development, Trends, and Opportunities at the Intersection of Food and Real Estate', (Washington, DC, USA, Urban Land Institute, 2016).
'Food Halls of North America', (Cushman & Wakefield, 2018).
'Food Market Culture Report', (Culinary Visions Panel 2017).
Liz Barrett Foster, 'How to Operate in a Food Hall', in Restaurant Hospitality (2017).
Karen Franck, 'Food for the City, Food in the City', Architecture Design May/June 2005.
Mark Hamstra, 'Food Hall Evolution', in Restaurant Hospitality (2018).
Edwin Heathcote, 'How Cities Can Harness the Power of the Market', in Financial Times (London, United Kingdom, The Financial Times Ltd. , 2018).
Peter Jones, David Hillier, and Daphne Comfort, 'Changing Times and Changing Places for Market Halls and Covered Markets.', International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 35 Issue: 3, (2007) pp.200-209.
Nancy B. Kurland and Linda S. Aleci, 'From Civic Institution to Community Place: The Meaning of the Public Market in Modern America', Agriculture and Human Values, 32 (2015), 505-21.
Alfonso Morales, 'Marketplaces: Prospects for Social, Economic, and Political Development', Journal of Planning Literature, 26 (2011), 3-17.
———, 'Public Markets as Community Development Tools', Journal of Planning Education and Research, 28 (2008), 426-40.
Alfonso Morales and Steven Balkin, 'The Value of Benefits of a Public Street Market: The Case of Maxwell Street', Economic Development Quarterly, 9 (1995), 304.
'Public Markets as a Vehicle for Social Integration and Upward Mobility', in Phase I Report: An Overview of Existing Programs and Assessment of Opportunities (New York, New York, Project for Public Spaces, Inc. & Partners for Livable Communities, 2003).
David Studdert and Sophie Watson, Markets as Sites for Social Interaction: Spaces of Diversity, Public Spaces Series (Bristol, UK, Published for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by Policy Press, 2006).
Tad Wilkes, 'Food Halls and Markets Still on-Trend ', in Hotel F&B (2017).