There’s a developer here who wants to build up a combo house/townhouse, hotel, and food hall.
What is up with all these Food Halls? They are like standalone food courts at the mall, but with slightly better food. Here’s my review of some local ones.
Blossom Hall in San Gabriel - the beer prices are OK, not great. Craft and local brews in plastic cups. Boasts what may be the only nearby source for Jamaican patties. Unappetizing sushi (inexcusable in this specific community), a dumpling shop, is all I remember. Uncomfortable seating. Very busy. The shopping district it’s in is sparse and pretty empty otherwise.
Some big hall in Whittier on Greenleaf, an “old town” shopping street - I really like this one because they have an okay pizza place, and a beer place with tall glasses. They also have a really good vegan Mexican food spot. In fact, for a food hall, it’s well above average Mexican food. The seating is nice, too: long benches. It get crowded at night.
A hall in Whittier at the old reform school - I didn’t eat here but it was pretty empty. Maybe 8 people at around lunch time. This is inside a housing development.
Haven City in West Covina - this is inside a mall that’s almost all restaurants for Asian immigrants. The food hall seems to be for the non-Asian people, but much of the food is Asian. The main issue for me was that the Banh Mi options were only grilled meat rather than the more traditional cold cuts. It was pretty busy. They have benches outside, but they are just table-sized, not huge benches like in Whittier.
Why are some of these successful, and others not?