Big cities may have built the food hall industry’s brand, but the nation’s next wave of food hall projects will be built in suburbs and smaller spaces.
Why it matters: That takeaway from the State of Food Halls report — recently presented to a gathering of industry insiders in Minneapolis — is another sign of how remote work has changed where we spend our happy hours and our weekends.
- Nationwide, 14 of the 20 newest food halls opened in suburbs or small towns.
What they’re saying: Before COVID, urban food halls did their biggest business serving cubicle warriors at lunch hour.
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- Now, “a lot of people are saying, ‘I want to be where the people are; the people are in the suburbs,'” said report co-author Trip Schneck of Colicchio Consulting, which tracks the food hall industry.