Hartford Parkville Market

What’s For Dinner?

Hartford eatery changes economic paradigm

Municipalities are often left wondering what to do with the warehouses that have been left empty by a changing economic paradigm. These brick mammoths used to be integral to a productive and industrial town, but with American manufacturing becoming a thing of the past, there’s no need. In many towns and cities, the go-to answer is to convert the space into apartments, but Parkville Market in Hartford shows that other adaptive uses are possible.

The Parkville Market boasts that it is the first food hall in Connecticut, but this trend is just picking up in America. An Eater blog defined them as a sprawling market that showcases a variety of mini-restaurants and retail food vendors under one roof, and back in 2017 labeled them as the next big thing in the food industry.

It’s no surprise then that Connecticut Magazine said that it took three years for Carlos Mouta, the owner, to see his vision become a reality. This space used to be the home of Pope Manufacturing, Columbia Bicycle, the Underwood and Royal Typewriters, the Gray Telephone Pay Station, and more according to the Parkville Market website, but today it has become a collective of “some of the most innovative businesses in Hartford.”

Food halls are meant to be a collective of unique and affordable restaurants that one can go to for a myriad of choices. According to the Eater article, restauranteurs have been warning of an impending affordable restaurant apocalypse as more and more Americans move towards fast-casual chains. This makes the Parkville Market the perfect kind of reuse to fit into a new and changing landscape, supporting not just one business but up to twenty restaurants, and anchoring a neighborhood with a restaurant haven in one building.

The vendors are selected to give you a taste of the cultural history of Hartford, and currently include Bombay Express, Brazilian Gula Grill, Chompers (small bites), Crave Leche (ice cream), Fowl Play, Hartford Poke Co., J’s Crab Shack, Jamaican Jerk Shack, Las Tortas MX, Mercado 27 (Peruvian), Mofongo, Okinawa Boba Co., Pho Go, Portly Pig, Que Chivo (Salvadorian), The Butcher & The Bean (coffee), and Twisted Italian Café.

There’s no doubt that Connecticut needs more housing, especially in the cities. But as apartments move in, restaurant options that mirror the eclectic demographics of a bustling city are needed in the same measure. One might find that food halls like the Parkville Market become anchoring points, attracting more residents and more businesses, and sparking natural growth.