CW Retail - Food Halls Report

EW YORK

THE FOOD HALL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

The food hall trend is a global one that has European roots. Major new projects opened around the world in 2016, some of which are already winning awards. The Markthal in Rotterdam, the Plaza Rio Food Garden in Tijuana and Copenhagen’s Street Food are just three recently delivered food halls that made Travel + Leisure Magazine’s list of “The World’s Best New Food Halls” for 2016. But while food halls appear to be the rage almost everywhere, the sheer amount of current activity in New York City makes it abundantly clear that New York is undoubtedly the indisputable food hall capital of the world. Cushman & Wakefield is currently tracking 18 existing food hall projects in New York City, which account for a total of 616,000 sf of space. But those numbers do not take into consideration projects that are on the periphery of this trend. For example, our food hall statistics do not include seasonal food halls (such as Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg), open-air markets (e.g., the Bowery Market in NoHo), or farmer’s markets (like the Fulton Stall Market in the Seaport District). Nor do they include some projects that arguably aren’t food halls but rather updated versions of food courts (like

Gallery 32 in Koreatown). That type of project is a potentially problematic one. Many operators have rebranded existing food court projects as food halls despite the fact that actual food vendors (unprepared goods) are often absent. In addition, often such projects don’t fit the tenant-mix mold, with developers opting for fast food or quick-service-based chains rather than chef-driven, incubator, start-up or authentically-themed operators. Including all of these projects could easily double the square footage figures presented in this report. Still, we consider it pertinent to monitor projects that clearly meet the criteria of the modern food hall trend in America today. Additionally, as this report was being assembled, we were informed several developers are seriously considering adding food hall components to a number of possible projects but are not ready to announce their intentions. Office and residential developers involved in those efforts are considering adding smaller (“mini”) food hall projects as ground floor retail. This trend of the “mini” or “bite-size” food hall as a retail amenity is exploding nationally; New York City is no exception.

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

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