The pandemic may have hit restaurants hard, but necessity is the mother of invention. Restaurants are thriving now thanks to innovative approaches like food halls.
While food halls aren’t necessarily a new restaurant concept, they’re becoming much more popular in the post-pandemic economy. Not only are food halls cheaper for aspiring restaurateurs, but they also give diners a unique experience that keeps them coming back for more.
Learn what a food hall eatery is, why it’s so popular, and how you can make a food hall work for your up-and-coming restaurant concept.
A food hall is one giant building that holds multiple stalls and vendors. With this setup, independent businesses share a space that attracts bigger crowds and more sales. Since food halls have separate seating in one communal area, many food stalls are tiny, often about 300-400 square feet each.
Food halls are similar to food trucks in that they tend to serve unusual or gourmet-quality food in a small space. But with a food hall, diners don’t have to wait in a hot parking lot for their food; they simply place their order, pick it up, and relax in a beautiful and entertaining space.
Dine-in is the main draw of a food hall because every diner gets to order exactly what they want. If one of your friends wants tacos and empanadas, another wants Asiandumplings, and you want a fried chicken sandwich, a food hall gives you diverse offerings to satisfy everyone’s cravings. It doesn’t hurt that many food halls also cater to diners with live music, full bars, and games, too.
While food halls might sound similar to a mall food court, they’re two separate concepts. Food courts are usually for fast food, while food hall meals are usually a sit-down affair that’s cooked to order.
Food halls are also about much more than the food. They’re a high-end gastronomic experience that doubles as a cool hangout spot for diners.
The combined food court and food hall market is currently worth $4 billion. So, there’s clearly demand for food halls, but why are they so popular with both restaurant owners and customers?
Restaurateurs love food halls because they:
Reduce costs: Setting up shop in a food hall is cheaper than building out a restaurant from scratch. Food halls also tend to have shorter operating hours, so you’re only open when you’re most likely to draw a crowd.
Prove concepts: There’s less risk in implementing a new food concept in a stall because it’s much cheaper. This allows you to get proof of concept in a smaller and more affordable space before pursuing a standalone restaurant.
Simplify marketing: As long as the food hall doesn’t have competing offerings (like two pizza parlors), vendors can work together to draw bigger crowds. Since the food hall itself does a lot of the marketing for its vendors, it’s an easy way to draw in more foot traffic.
But food halls are a hit with diners, too. Diners can go to a comfortable indoor space and have a great time, even in the chill of winter or the heat of summer. The beautiful decor and fun atmosphere also make food halls a complete destination instead of a simple dinner spot.
Plus, you can’t beat the variety. If a dining party wants Thai, Italian, bubble tea, and bagels from a deli, they can all be served at the same location.
Food halls are prevalent in some of the biggest cities in the United States. While more food halls are popping up every day, these are some of the most popular food halls in the country:
Union Market: This market in Washington, D.C. is equal parts farmer’s market and artisanal gourmet destination.
The Block: This is yet another Washington, D.C. food hall that’s only open at night and features baked goods and stiff drinks.
Chelsea Market: This is one of the most popular food halls in the United States, based right in the heart of New York City.
Detroit Shipping Co.: This covered outdoor food hall bills itself as a “restaurant collective” that also features local artwork.
While food halls come with their own set of challenges, you can treat them as an incubator for all of your new ideas. A food stall can launch and sustain your business, or it can be a great first step toward opening a standalone restaurant. It allows you to test your menu, grow a dedicated following, and finesse your operations for less overhead.
Follow these seven tips to design an A-plus food hall experience for your diners.
Some food halls require diners to pay for each individual order with the vendor. But that can get irritating, especially if diners plan on visiting several booths for their meal. To speed things up, ask your food hall manager to set up a central self-service kiosk for ordering. This allows diners to order food from any of the stalls in the building and pay for their meal without making multiple trips. KioskBuddy supports food halls and similar concepts where customers can purchase from multiple merchants in a single order!
But if your food hall doesn’t have a central checkout area, you can always set up a self-service kiosk at your food stall, too. It’s a convenient payment option that can definitely speed up the ordering process.
While food halls are designed to be more of an experience, some diners want to simply pick up their meals to-go. In that case, you can streamline the takeout process with food lockers. You can even connect the food lockers to your self-ordering kiosk system so diners can complete their transaction in less time.
Food halls are about much more than the food. They need to draw a crowd — and keep them there — to help vendors like you make more sales. If you’re trying out a new restaurant concept, join a food hall with:
Event space
Frequent pop-up events
Happy hour or craft beer
Live music
Point-of-sale (POS) systems, like Square, make it easier to not only accept orders from diners but get insights into how your restaurant is performing. See sales data and cost data in one place so you can make data-driven decisions about the future of your food brand.
Sometimes food halls will provide POS systems for vendors, but other times, you’re on your own. If you can choose your own POS, go with Square. It gives you access to helpful features like loyalty programs that will encourage diners to come back to your stall again and again. Square is also compatible with self-ordering apps, like KioskBuddy, so you can integrate all of your restaurant tools into one platform.
Huge menus are difficult to execute in a small food stall. They can also overwhelm diners to the point that they might go to another stall.
Try simplifying your menu. Start with a max of 10 options and offer simplified meal deals or bundles to speed up the ordering process.
Food halls bring food vendors together, so why not help each other out? Work with other vendors to promote events or specials. You can share audiences with each other and both gain new followers, so it’s a win-win arrangement that benefits everyone selling at the food hall.
Diners buy more than meals at food halls. Sometimes they want to take home specific ingredients or goodies. For example, if diners rave about your artisanal burger buns or world-famous salsa, you can offer them as packaged goods to boost sales.
Food halls are increasing in popularity, both for restaurant owners and for adventurous diners. To make the most of your setup at a food hall, be sure to:
Add self-service kiosks
Make takeout convenient
Create experiences
Upgrade your POS
Simplify your menu
Co-market with other vendors
Offer packaged products
Food stalls can be incredibly lucrative, but you need the right systems to back up how you do business. That’s where KioskBuddy comes in. All you need is Square payment hardware and KioskBuddy to transform tablets into a convenient ordering option. Sign up for KioskBuddy today.