Food Halls: Growth, Challenges, and a Market Coming of Age
It’s great to finally see a feature in Restaurant Magazine and other recent positive stories in the press highlighting the resilience and potential of our industry. I’ve been out here banging the drum for quite some time.
(Although I do question the timeline presented in this particular piece. Altrincham Market, Mercato Metropolitano, Street Feast and Time Out Market. Deserve the credit for setting the foundations.)
This story, alongside strong performance results from the likes of Market Halls, is shining a light on the real opportunity for growth in the food hall sector. But just like the wider hospitality industry, we must still proceed with caution. The recent closure of Department in Sheffield, the first in over a year, is a reminder that this isn’t a guaranteed win.
For me, there are three key factors every new food hall operator needs to consider:
1. Run Rate and Education Curve
Food halls are not restaurants. They require time to educate customers, not just about what they offer, but how to use them. Food halls serve a broad range of touchpoints and customer needs, and it often takes time to find their niche and realise their full potential. That extended runway can put pressure on the relationship between venue owners and kitchen traders. When opening a new hall, this journey needs to be understood, communicated, expected and properly funded by everyone involved.
2. Market Saturation
Although it might not feel like it, this sector is still relatively young. How many food halls any town or city can realistically sustain is, in many ways, an ongoing social experiment. Whether you're looking at total population, 15-minute catchments or commuter flows, saturation is something we’ll need to track closely. All eyes will be on Manchester, which is set to welcome a wave of new openings into an already vibrant food hall scene, and Birmingham, which looks poised to explode with new venues over the next year.
3. Trading Conditions
This one’s true for every UK business right now. Trading conditions are tough. But unlike many other hospitality formats, food halls are, by design, more resilient. We can flex and adapt to meet demand. Our ability to cater to multiple customer need states and add layers of experience through good programming means that, with thought and creativity, food halls are well placed to ride out the current economic storm.
Sadly, in the case of Department Sheffield, it sounds like they faced a combination of all three factors and more. Their statement read:
“This decision follows careful consideration and is the result of ongoing trading challenges, reduced footfall, the inability to secure essential funding, and a number of external factors that have ultimately made it no longer viable for us to continue operating.”
But one closure doesn’t define the sector. It remains an exciting time for food halls in the UK. We’re seeing renewed attention, growing public interest and a shift in perception. What happens next as the market matures and more investors take notice will be fascinating to watch.
