Food Halls

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irvinehomeowner

irvinehomeowner

Well-known member
For those unfamiliar with them, they are sort of like food courts, almost like an indoor food truck event (or farmer's market).

Some examples are the OC Mart Mix (near where Iron Press is in Costa Mesa) and the new Anaheim Packing District:http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,11861.0.html

Over at the District in Tustin, the same people who did the OC Mart Mix, are starting their own brand of food halls called "Union Market". In addition to the District, they are also opening a Union Market in the Mission Viejo Kaleidoscope mall (I'm assuming where the Bristol Farms was).

Today's OCReg had an article about this new trend and detailed how the Union Market couple started their concept and are now being called on by numerous retail centers to develop a food hall for them.

It got me wondering about the defunct Woodbridge Assi Market space (as I've mentioned on that thread) and how this would work for that area considering there is enough parking and it's very central to Irvine and an empty space that large doesn't exist in other Irvine centers. Just like other food halls, it won't just be food but also small boutique retailers. There is a good mix of other businesses that could help with the traffic (bookstore, movie theater, yoga, misc service offices and activities).

The only issue is the upcoming Union Market is not that far away, but I do think there is enough to this concept to succeed. Imagine a place where ps9 can get Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Persian and American comfort food all at the same time... and then finish up with artisan cake pops or gelato.

Maybe I should hit up Homie for a loan to start this up.
 
Here's the OCReg article I was referring to:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/food-630499-market-union.html

On a recent Saturday, the Anaheim Packing House buzzes with hipsters queuing up for frozen gelato on a stick, children sipping from hand shaken watermelon lemonades and 40-somethings forking at gravy-soaked fries.

The gourmands of all ages settle into retro-chic communal seats as live music plays inside the pristinely restored wooden fortress.

Welcome to today?s new dining experience: upscale food grazing where no eater is left behind.

?It?s a modern day food court. It touches every generation,? said Hugh Pham, co-owner of The Kroft, a counter-service gastropub at the packing house.

In Southern California, contemporary food halls are sprouting up in long neglected neighborhoods and aging retail centers ? from downtown Anaheim to the revitalized Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. The culinary walkabouts have become incubators for passionate chefs creating eclectic fare ? Indian street food, steamy Asian hot pots, French macarons on a stick.

More are on the way. Union Market, Fourth Street Market and Lot 579 are coming to Orange County, while The Annex is curating micro eateries in Oxnard.
?Dining is not replaceable by the Internet. It?s a social experience that will continue. And bigger mall operators are starting to talk about food halls,? said Randy Hiatt, president of Fessel International, a Costa Mesa restaurant consulting firm.
[...]
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thats a great idea Irvinehomeowner! I would be there to eat all the time.
I love the concept of food halls being a place where its nice and spacious and indoors its great for young families to relax and not worry about their children running around.
Cant wait to have more food halls like  union market open up all around Irvine
 
ocbird said:
thats a great idea Irvinehomeowner! I would be there to eat all the time.
I love the concept of food halls being a place where its nice and spacious and indoors its great for young families to relax and not worry about their children running around.
Cant wait to have more food halls like  union market open up all around Irvine
Click to expand...

I guess you haven't been to the packing district?  Definitely not young family friendly and in general not people friendly at all.  If you like to stand while you eat, you'll love this new concept.  Hopefully the union market will have more seating available, but I'm dreading the stream of people crossing at the stop sign blocking the already horrible bottleneck at the district.  Don't get me wrong, I love food especially small business setups, but this food hall concept needs to be thrown out the window and just go back with a regular food court with the right ratio of butts to chairs.
 
I think that's one of the keys though, to maximize the seating footprint and minimize the vendor footprint.

It's kind of like food trucks, they don't have a big prep/cook space yet they are able to serve hundreds of people. So you do the same thing with a food hall. Most vendors would have a 20x10 space (bigger than a food truck interior) and they don't have to worry about seating.

The Anaheim one got it wrong, bad parking, poor seating... but the concept can work with the right logistics. It's sort of the same thing they have going in cities like Boston or even those truck/bus stops in Europe with multiple food vendors and a shared seating areas.

If you've been to the OC Mart Mix, that gives you a better idea of what the concept could be like (although I think they need to work on more centralized seating as many of the vendors there have dedicated seating).

I also think you have to mix it with non-food vendors too, it's basically a shrunk down small business high concept mall.
 
I love the idea.  Lots of food choices...informal setting.  Of course with the District, parking and access will be terrible.

I am concerned about spacing....there doesn't seem to be enough area for all the vendors they have lined up and seating. 

But definitely excited about the prospect.  Hopefully, they'll do something in the South Irvine area. 

 
Great idea for the Woodbridge Village Center. That location has the available market footprint and also has a really nice courtyard. Plenty of parking to be complemented by the numerous walking trails for more people wishing to grab food and enjoy the lake. It could even support the cheap theaters too since the food options are limited.

Now if only TIC will go for it?
 
The music at the Anaheim Packing House is way too loud. My kids freaked out and I saw other parents run outside with their kids every time the band started playing. 
 
ps9 said:
ocbird said:
thats a great idea Irvinehomeowner! I would be there to eat all the time.
I love the concept of food halls being a place where its nice and spacious and indoors its great for young families to relax and not worry about their children running around.
Cant wait to have more food halls like  union market open up all around Irvine
Click to expand...

I guess you haven't been to the packing district?  Definitely not young family friendly and in general not people friendly at all.  If you like to stand while you eat, you'll love this new concept.  Hopefully the union market will have more seating available, but I'm dreading the stream of people crossing at the stop sign blocking the already horrible bottleneck at the district.  Don't get me wrong, I love food especially small business setups, but this food hall concept needs to be thrown out the window and just go back with a regular food court with the right ratio of butts to chairs.
Click to expand...


I haven't been to the packing district. no idea that its a stand and eat kinda place. Ok would not like that concept at all. thinking more like food courts such as mitsuwa but with a bigger space and more variety of vendors. Also keep thinking they should make something out of the old town irvine , the strip of stores and La Quinta Inn by the 5 fwy.  Make it into a major dining destination. Im thinking like the ferry building in san francisco or granville island (forgot if its in vancouver canada or in seattle)
 
ocbird said:
Also keep thinking they should make something out of the old town irvine , the strip of stores and La Quinta Inn by the 5 fwy.  Make it into a major dining destination. Im thinking like the ferry building in san francisco or granville island (forgot if its in vancouver canada or in seattle)
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+1

That is another space that can use a similar concept. Not sure if the old Tijuana's space has already been leased but that's a big enough enough area to do this on a small scale.

Even if not, they should redo that area since it does have freeway access and a hotel to feed traffic.

The Knowlwood's/Denny's area has been very busy the last few months, maybe because the other Denny's closed and there are more people moving into Cypress Village.
 
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