VENUE REPORT FOOD HALLS
Bottling Department
THE FOOD HALL CRAZE
These on-trend spots offer new options for groups.
Food halls are becoming the darlings of the dining scenes in cities around the U.S., and Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio are no exceptions. “The entire Dallas-Fort Worth region has seen an influx of food halls similar to the national trend,” says Zane Harrington, communications specialist at Visit Dallas. “It began with the Shed at the Dallas Farmers Market in 2012, but we’ve seen a big influx within the past two years.” With multiple restaurant and bar concepts operating under one roof, food halls provide a diverse array of elevated, fast-casual options. Many food halls offer new concepts from local chefs who can experiment with menus on a smaller scale before expanding them else-
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where, Harrington says. The added options make food halls a great place to host an event, as well, Harrington says. “Food halls are great for groups because they offer a variety of cuisines, so everyone can eat and/or drink something they enjoy and are in the mood for, regardless of dietary restrictions,” Zane says. At least five food halls opened in DallasFort Worth in 2018, including The Commons at Cedar Springs in Dallas, LC Kitchen in Plano, Urban 8 at The Colony, Crockett Row in Fort Worth and Texas Live in Arlington.
Houston and San Antonio will be adding more food halls to their inventory, as well. Houston’s first food hall, The Conservatory, opened in 2016, while its second, Finn Hall, opened in late 2018. At least three more food halls are set to open in the next year, including Bravery Chef Hall, offering five restaurants and three bars across from Market Square Park; Lyric Market, a 31,000-square-foot space designed to emulate Harrods’ food hall in London; and Understory, a 35,000-square-foot project connected to Houston’s underground tunnel system. Bottling Department—located at the 22-acre retail, dining and entertainment hub Pearl—opened as San Antonio’s first food hall in July 2017. Bottling Department is currently
P H OTO S : J E S S I C A G I E S E Y
BY MELISSA SERSL AND
