What Makes an Exceptional Food Hall?

As the enquiries come thick and fast from Retail Landlords and their representatives wanting to transform empty retail units into successful food halls, there are a number of factors to consider.

There is an appetite for struggling landlords to board the food hall express and there is certainly an appetite for people to enjoy spending time and money in these venues, however, the real litmus test for successful longevity, as opposed to short-term fashion, is authenticity and a real passion from the traders and the landlord to enjoy the genuine success of the offer. Many traders are under-capitalised and want, or need to turn profits from day one, whereas those passionate traders willing to simply break even for the first few months in order to build a dependable clientele are far more valuable to all involved in the project.

Some of the new food halls in the larger cities, trade on their fashionable FOMO credentials, however people will only pay ￡14 for a sausage in a bun for so long. Eventually, some kid will surely point out that the Emporer’s new clothes can fool some of the people, but not all of them and for only a limited time - typically one visit.

However, there is so much to be optimistic about and if you have an empty retail liability with good ground floor space with a funky basement and space for a roof terrace, then this could prove to be the next exceptional food hall.

Space requirements, depending on location range between 10,000 -30,000 sq.ft.