About a decade ago, I stepped foot in San Francisco’s Ferry Building, and the epicurean corner of my mind was blown. Oysters on the half-shell here; fresh-baked sourdough there; casual cafés and burger joints right in front of me; sit-down Asian noodle restaurants and Mediterranean bistros across the way; wine, beer, juice, and coffee everywhere. I thought about moving in.
Opened in 2003, this food-and-drink marketplace breathed fire into what would become the country’s hottest culinary trend: the coast-to-coast development of what are collectively being called “food halls,” loosely defined as places where multiple establishments offer a wide variety of food and/or beverage experiences under the same roof.
It’s not a new concept. Public markets with food-serving stalls are prevalent in the Old World, and here in America, Philadelphia’s still-kicking Reading Terminal Market opened in 1892, Seattle’s Pike Place in 1907, and Los Angeles’ Grand Central Market paired restaurants with grocery offerings as far back as 1922.