Food halls see success in suburbs, report finds
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Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
While big cities may have built the food hall industry's brand, the nation's next wave of food hall projects will be built in the suburbs.
Why it matters: That takeaway from a new State of Food Halls report 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, according to the report — and Detroit's latest, biggest food hall sensation is by Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn.
Zoom out: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, urban food halls did their biggest business serving cubicle warriors at lunch hour.
- 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.
Zoom in: That's the case for the Canteen at Midtown, an all-halal, 10-vendor business in Dearborn with outdoor trucks and indoor stalls that owner Hassan Chami built as a regional destination with ample parking and highway access.
- Chami tells Axios one key to success is recruiting collaborative vendors who want to help each other out and come up with creative, limited-time dishes.
The intrigue: At the Canteen, instead of standing in separate lines at each vendor, customers can pay once at their table and have all their dishes brought to them.
- Social media is also a big driver of intrigue, with food influencers regularly hyping vendors' dishes online, including Amo Sami's Shawarma and Japanese cream sandwiches from Nami Sushi.
- The Canteen also markets itself by posting reels on its Instagram, which has 31,000 followers, pretending it's a high-stakes reality show.
Another suburban concept opened in Metro Detroit earlier this year. Ferndale ice cream shop Treat Dreams turned into a small, six-vendor food hall called Pavilion Street Market.
- Before that, Whatcha Wanna Eat opened in northwest Detroit in 2023.
- Eight-year-old Detroit Shipping Co. recently took on new vendors Sushi Lounge and Konjo Me.
A Ferndale food truck park with indoor dining, Detroit Fleat, closed last year to become a private event space.
- Other food hall concepts that failed to gain traction include downtown Detroit's Fort Street Galley and the Chroma Building's abandoned food hall plan.
What's next: The report names Metro Detroit among the fastest-growing food hall markets in the country, with more planned to open in the next couple of years.