10 / 70
rents probably in the $60 per-square-foot
range for about 2,000 square feet. That
would have been $120,000 per year and it
would have been for space that generates
nowhere near the traffic of this place. I
would not have been able to afford that, but
here I am thriving.”
Food Halls: A Quick Primer
According to the
Oxford English Dictionary
(OED), the term “food hall” is British in
origin and it is defined as “a large section
of a department store where food is sold.”
Clearly this definition is not complete or
all-inclusive. The OED is a British institution
and so might be slightly skewed towards
things British. But one could argue that the
food hall is also a British invention, as
Harrods department store in London is
generally credited with opening the world’s
first food hall, at least as we know it. That is
perhaps not surprising as Charles Harrod–
the store’s founder—got his start in retail as
a grocer and tea merchant. Food has
always been part of the mix at Harrods.
Harrods Food Hall (its official title) has
undergone multiple incarnations since the
store’s original formation in 1849.
The food hall concept may have begun in
Great Britain, but it also took hold on the
European continent where it has long been
a mainstay, and was embraced in Asia
before this current trend evolved in the
U.S. London was the food hall capital of the
world for decades, but in recent years it has
been increasingly challenged by Singapore,
Seoul and Tokyo. New York City, of course,
was also on that list of challengers—until
this year. With a total of eight new projects
slated for completion through the end of
2016 and more in the development pipeline,
no other metropolis comes close. New York
City is now the indisputable food hall
capital of the world.
What is the Real Estate
Definition of a Food Hall?
The commercial real estate industry has yet
to settle on a clear definition of what the
food hall of today actually is, and any
definition we provide here is likely to
continue evolving. For this real estate-
focused report, we did not include open-air
markets in our survey. Nor did we include
seasonal food halls or many projects that
struck us as simply updated takes on the
FOOD HALLS OF AMERICA
Stated Restaurant Chain Growth Plans
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
11,000
12,000
13,000
14,000
15,000
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Stated Growth Plans
Source: Cushman & Wakefield Research
Restaurant Growth
Number of Restaurants
10
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD