Food halls are as much about the variety of food and the focus on higher-quality items as they are communal gathering spots. Hotels are finding ways of incorporating these concepts, and whether they’re popping up in places outside of top-tier cities, such as the new joint venture between the Limerick, Ireland-based Savoy Hospitality Group and Alex Findlater & Co Food & Wine Hall. The food hall is part of a development that also houses Savoy’s George boutique hotel, according to the Irish Times.
The Caribbean’s first food hall, Regatta Food Hall, opened recently in Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas. To make the concept work within a hotel, Executive Chef Brent Martin created food stations based on cooking equipment rather than cuisine, so there are chefs cooking to order at a fry station, a grill, a rotisserie and, of course, a dessert station. The dining area is a mix of communal tables and booths.
Kelly Weikel, director of consumer insight at Technomic, a business consultancy with a focus on food service, says food halls are seen as a destination and associated with innovation and high quality. “Food halls and that type of establishment can be a big draw because consumers want to stay somewhere where they’re kind of in the action,” Weikel says.