Food hall

A food hall is a big place where many different foods and drinks are sold together. It can be a large building all on its own or a special part inside a department store. Food halls bring together many vendors, so visitors can choose from a wide variety of options in one spot. This makes it easy and fun to explore many tastes and cuisines without having to go to many different stores.

Overview

Unlike food courts that have fast food chains, food halls mix local restaurants, butcher shops, and other food shops under one roof. They can be in separate buildings or old buildings used for other purposes.

The number of food halls in the United States grew by 37% in 2016. People like them because they are places to gather, help small businesses grow, and offer special shopping experiences for each community, unlike traditional food courts with big national chains.

The term "food hall" from Britain is now used in the United States too. In some countries in the Asia-Pacific area, "food hall" means the same as a food court in North America, a place with fast food chains in a shopping mall.

A gourmet food hall can also be like a public market or a modern market hall, for example in Stockholm's Östermalm Saluhall or Mexico City's Mercado Roma.