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Prospect Park’s Food Hall Expects to Open Spring, 2020
Malcolm Yards will include nine kitchens, and a whole lot more
The Malcolm Yards Market food hall, which is part of an overarching development called Malcolm Yards in the Prospect Park neighborhood in Minneapolis is marching forward with an expected opening of next year. Earlier estimates had Malcolm Yards Market – and the surrounding development – opening in 2018, but that date has since been pushed back to spring 2020, according to the president of the Malcolm Yards Project, Patricia Wall.
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“We’re going to have a full bar, a self-pour tap wall, and nine kitchen concepts,” she said. Wall fell in love with an expansive market on Granville Island in Vancouver, Canada and, ever since then, creating a food hall has been Wall’s dream. But this isn’t about recreating something that already exists.
“We’re not trying to emulate anyone or anything,” she said. “It’s more about creating a ‘feeling.’” Wall talked about how a good food hall can make patrons feel special and excited, and that’s exactly what the Walls hope to create with Malcolm Yards Market.
At the moment, Wall said that there are “many chefs and restaurateurs who would like to be in the food hall; four or five are very serious and ready to sign.” These names will be released in the fall, but until then, she teased several shops include coffee, a Japanese spot, and a vegan place.
The food hall will lean into the technology trend. The development team is working with software companies to create an experience where guests won’t have to stop at each location to pay. Instead, there are talks of potential SMS alert systems to notify when food is ready and RFID payment tech that would be automatically charged to a debit or credit card.
“This is all in place to ease the guest experience so you don’t have to stop and check out at each vendor,” said Wall.
Wall spoke of an environment where people could order food and drink; walk and relax freely amongst the premises, allowing for a seamless experience. Chairs, community tables, and couches are planned to be strewn throughout the inside and outside.
Another quality that differentiates Malcolm Yards Market from other local food halls is that there won’t be a sit-down, anchor restaurant, nor will there be a retail space within its 16,500 square feet.
The food hall is part of a neighborhood within a neighborhood development, including two 150-unit apartment buildings. They also hope to attract company HQ’s, jobs, and even more space for apartments in the future.
A block away will be an Irish whiskey distillery. Wall Cos. are assisting the O’Shaughnessy family in developing this space and the included tasting room.
It’s in part due to this scale, they’ve encountered challenges along the way. But cooperation with the city of Minneapolis and nearby University of Minnesota, in addition to other local entities has ensured that the Malcolm Yards lives on.
“We’ve had a lot of fun working on this project. It’s a dream,” she said, but even better is that they’re being welcomed. “The city has been supportive, the University of Minnesota has been supportive, and the neighborhood’s excited. I can’t wait.”
- by Matt Gundrum Jul 15, 2019 - twincities.eater.com
