Downtown Food Hall Rumor is Confirmed! It's Coming!

On June 22nd we wrote about a rumored food hall coming to Creative Village. Our owner Mark Baratelli was a part of an invite-only food brainstorming meeting at City Hall. He brought up food halls and how they can incubate the restaurant scene. Someone in the room said a food hall was coming to Creative Village. Others verbally confirmed it but no one revealed who was behind it.

We learned today that the rumor is true! 

On July 6th, downtown developer Craig Ustler revealed in an Orlando Sentinel article that he is the developer behind the downtown food hall coming to Creative Village. 

It will be located in one of his apartment buildings. No further details were provided.

Food halls are hitting Orlando and the surrounding burbs. Don't know what they are? Eater describes food halls as "multi-faceted, typically indoor markets showcasing a variety of local food vendors and artisans." Simply put - it's a place to get lunch almost every day without getting bored, a place to grab a wine after work, a place to take the family for lunch on the weekends. It's a gathering spot, a hub of activity.

We recommend flipping through some slide shows and doing a little reading to understand the value and point of having a food hall scene in your city. Here are a few links to start with:

  1. MSN - 50 best food halls in America
  2. The Daily Meal - 50 best food halls in America
  3. Travel and Leisure - America's best food halls
  4. Zagat - 11 Must-Visit Food Halls in America
Below are the Orlando and Orlando-area food halls we know about:
  1. East End Market - 3201 Corrine Dr - READ - Currently open. While it may not officially be a food hall, it's the closest thing we have right now. Several booths selling bread, coffee, lunches and alcohol. 
  2. Plant Street Market - 426 W. Plant Street, Winter Garden - READ - 20 vendors including food, coffee, butcher, clothing, honey, 2 restaurants and a brewery. A quick drive to Winter Garden is rewarded with a relaxing time indoors or out. Go on the weekend to catch the farmers market. 
  3. Food Hall by Clay Miller - 640 S. Orlando Ave  READ - Just announced. 6 food stalls and one restaurant is coming to Maitland. The stalls could each be run by a separate entity or all run by Clay Miller. 
  4. Artegon Marketplace's Eat Street Food Hall - 5250 International Dr - READ -  Construction is currently underway. Set to open next year. The name will be Eat Street Marketplace. It will be 27,300 sq ft of food vendors, tasting stations, culinary retail and even a cooking school, all in a marketplace environment. 
  5. Rumored Craig Ustler Downtown Food Hall - Creative Village - READ -  On June 22nd we wrote about a rumored food hall coming to Creative Village. Our owner Mark Baratelli was a part of an invite-only food brainstorming meeting at City Hall. He brought up food halls and how they can incubate the restaurant scene. Someone in the room said a food hall was coming to Creative Village. Others verbally confirmed it but no one revealed who was behind it. On July 6th, downtown developer Craig Ustler revealed that he was building the food hall in an Orlando Sentinel article. It will be located in one of his apartment buildings in Creative Village. No further details were provided. 
  6. Airport Food Hall - Orlando International Airport - READ - Opened in May 2016. The company that built this, Villa Restaurant Group, used the term food hall in the title, but we feel it's not a a real on based on their occupants which include Jersey Mikes, Chipotle and in-house brands. 
Photo used for Illustration purposes only