LAKEVIEW — The first food hall to open north of Downtown is coming to Lakeview in 2018.
Lakeview Market will open at Broadway and Sheridan inside the massive mixed-use development by owner David Gassman. Already under construction, the $10 million, seven-story complex prompted the exit of well-loved businesses like Spritz Burger, Tutto Fresco Trattoria and Strawdog Theatre Company.
Among what's replacing them at 3817-45 N. Broadway will be Lakeview Market, a 16,000-square-foot food hall.
"Food halls are ideal for incubating up-and-coming concepts and chefs, as well as established restaurateurs," said managing partner Anshul Mangal. "Less cost, less risk and plenty of opportunity."
Lakeview Market will be the first north of Magnificent Mile and will be open daily — a break from other Chicago food halls — from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., with some vendors staying open until midnight on weekends.
Lakeview Market will open in 2018. [Provided/jSa]
The food hall will feature bars for upscale cocktails, sports games and wine enthusiasts, with up to 20 additional food vendors. Already confirmed are outposts of Furious Spoon Ramen Shop, FireFin Poké Shop and Budlong Hot Chicken.
Mangal heads Now Open Project, an incubator that has partnered with 50 budding restaurants in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.
Both Furious Spoon and FireFin are concepts that grew under the Now Open Project umbrella. Its partners are also behind restaurants like Bonsoirée and Deadbolt Bar, both in Logan Square, and Takito and Kabocha in West Loop.
In Chicago, four food halls are within two miles of one another Downtown: Eataly, Latinicity, Chicago French Market and Revival Food Hall, the current headquarters du jour for the trendiest in Chicago's upscale casual cuisine scene.
Gassman has been working on his plans for the development for years, but finally moved on the project last summer. With 125 residential units, 129 parking spots and office space, the only tenant confirmed to return after vacating the corner is Starbucks.
Renderings for the Lakeview Market mixed-use development show the preserved terra cotta eagle sculptures returning to their corner of Broadway and Sheridan. [Provided/jSa]
The developer did pledge to preserve the white terra cotta eagles that perched atop the Isaac G. Ettleson building since 1911. Renderings released Wednesday show the eagles returning as part of the new development.
Furious Spoon and FireFin also have plans to open at Belmont and Halsted in the former Spin Nightclub.
Eater Chicago first reported on Lakeview Market, which will take over a year to open and will be the fifth major food hall in Chicago.
Just what it means to be a food hall is fluid, with small nuances placing the concept somewhere between a food court and an old-style market. Often, they become incubators for up-and-coming restaurateurs.
While the exact definition is foggy, what's clear is that food halls are a growing trend in the United States, with two dozen expected to open over the past two years alone.
The American concept of food halls, playgrounds for "foodies" and hosts to upscale artisan eateries, is an offspring of its British origins.
One of the earliest examples is the food hall inside Selfridges, the first modern department store that opened in 1909 in London. Currently, Selfridges Food Hall is home to fashionable French bistro Aubaine and a posh champagne and oyster bar. It's also where the department store sells gifts and packaged goods.
In Europe and other countries, a modern food hall is sometimes merely the equivalent of food courts in the United States, which typically fill a large section of a mall or department store like Macy's Seven on State and are often filled with fast food vendors.
In the United States, there were only a select number of food halls, like the century-old Grand Central Market in Los Angeles or Seattle's Pike Place Market. Some are more like markets for raw or packaged foods, a permanent sibling to the seasonal farmers market.
But as younger diners seek out locally sourced, eclectic food options, standalone food halls have taken off, starting with Eataly in 2010. The high-end Italian food hall chain expanded to Chicago in 2013 and eventually to Boston and Los Angeles.
In Chicago, Eataly was followed by Latinicity two years later, an unrelated Spanish food market inside Block 37 in the Loop. Chicago French Market opened in 2009 and offers a combination of market goods like produce and meats plus ready-to-eat options from eateries like Aloha Poké Co., Loop Soup and Buen Apetito.
Most recently, Revival Food Hall opened in August, featuring fare from 15 Chicago indie food darlings like The Budlong, Brown Bag Seafood Company and Smoque BBQ.
Plans for additional future Chicago food halls are also in the works.
