CW Retail - Food Halls Report

19

Eastern Market, Washington, DC T he historic Eastern Market has been serving the residents of Washington DC’s Capitol Hill neighborhood since 1873. But while it has been through several incarnations over the decades, its rebirth as a food hall began in 2007. Unfortunately, it was then ravaged by a fire that destroyed much of the property. Two years later, Eastern Market re-emerged as a hip, industrial chic food hall serving a neighborhood that itself was rapidly gentrifying due to an influx of young professional millennials. Today, this 40,000 sf venue is home to multiple sit-down restaurants and at least 12 independent food vendors. Outside, bargain hunters can enjoy the Eastern Market Flea Market. M arket on Market is yet another project on our list that has also been honored by Travel + Leisure Magazine in its World’s Best New Food Halls list for 2016. Not only is this a great project on its face, but it is a prime example of a food hall as an amenity in a building that otherwise is not retail. This 22,000 sf project at the base of the Twitter building in San Francisco brings together local purveyors, specialty product vendors and a handful of prepared food options in addition to a market cafe and grocery store. There are currently more than ten vendors active in the space, with concepts ranging from the Hawaiian-inspired fish salad known as poke to donuts, and from pizza to street tacos. Market on Market began its life closer to Eataly's single operator model but has since shifted (and thrived) to a more traditional plug-and-play food hall model. Currently, roughly half of its space is grocery, but plans call for reducing the grocery footprint and adding more food vendors. Ironically, while Twitter has its own cafeteria that provides free food to its employees, demand from Twitter employees, other office tenants, neighborhood street traffic and other visitors has been enough to warrant adding more prepared food options.

20 Market on Market, San Francisco

Cool Streets Report: Food Halls

47