One of the most significant openings of recent years...

Europe's largest "purpose-built" food hall is the leading hook for everyone writing about the impressive new Cambridge Street Collective that opened in Sheffield last week. However, its size distracts from the truly impressive factors of this opening. I'll state that this is the most culturally significant opening we have seen in years, and in the future, it will be highlighted for its role in how hospitality helped regenerate our high streets and cities.

The first factor is its location. Almost hidden away behind closed department stores in the city centre, the building is on the site of an old delivery and beer yard. One side features the backs and gables of a Victorian row of shops, while the other side is the Grade II-listed Bethel Chapel. These provide the foundations for a stunning 30,000 sq ft new construction with multiple floors and terraces. There are other bigger food halls in Europe that I'm sure are currently beating their chests in indignation, that fill cavernous open spaces like fish markets, department stores, or warehouses. But, this is a purpose-built food hall, with spaces created to divide the building, providing both scale and intimacy.

The challenge is that CSC needs to become a destination that attracts visitors from Sheffield and beyond, and this is the second "purpose" for which it was built. The developer Queensberry and the council deserve massive credit for understanding that creating a destination food hall has the power to anchor, attract, and invigorate this whole quarter of the city centre. Plans are already in place for a music venue in the Bethel Chapel, opposite a building housing a new market for independent creative retailers and artists, along with a tech and start-up incubator. This is all surrounded by new retail, office, and residential offers as part of the council's "Heart of the City" initiative. All of these combine to bring life and revenue to a once-struggling part of town and remind me of the Baltic Triangle in Liverpool, but it is less organic and more by design.

The next factor is CSC's economic impact potential. Blend Family, the operators, fly in the face of most food hall thinking and maximise the number of vendors in their sites. With twenty kitchens and restaurants, that's a lot of traders to keep happy. However, it also has the potential to develop many young businesses across a wide range of offers and price points, giving them the testbed to develop and move on to their own ventures in the city.

Within these traders lies the subsequent significant factor of culture. Every part of the world is represented, from Penang to Palestine and Detroit to Delhi. The opening was full of Chinese dragons, Bollywood dancers, geishas, and the Sheffield Ukulele Band. Many of the kitchens are family businesses; all are independent, offering great food, educating, and showcasing their cultures. There's even a cookery school where these cuisines can be showcased to the public and schools.

Of course, not everything is perfect. I really like the interior design, but it's inevitable when you're buying well over 1000 covers; compromises on the comfort of the tables and chairs need to be made. Additionally, the site isn't without the issues faced by all large food halls in the rush to open: the wayfinding, sound, and ordering tech all need work, but these will improve with time.

Finally, the most crucial factor and the best "purpose" of all is the sense that at the heart of this project, its founders, Matt and Nina Bigland, have set out on this endeavour with the real purpose of effecting change and a love for their community and city. With the backing of a forward-thinking developer and engaged council, they may have helped inspire many cities and towns in the years to come.

#foodhalls #regeneration #blendfamily #queensberry #sheffield