Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | July 22, 2019 | wbjournal.com little disposable income. More than one out of three Canal District residents live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. at will force the market to rely on visitors from out- side the neighbor- hood, a factor itself complicated by a major construction overhaul of Kelley Square immedi- ately outside the building slated to begin this fall. "ere's a reason why no one's done this before," Fletcher said, predicting the market will either become the city's premiere shopping destination along with adjacent Crompton Place or become a failure. The modern European market Food halls, which feature a mix of High stakes in the Canal District Developer Allen Fletcher is predicting monumental success or abject failure for his public food market BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor A new amenity hoping to draw crowds from across Central Massachusetts is coming to Worcester's Canal District. No, not Polar Park and the Pawtucket Red Sox. Much sooner than that, the Worcester Public Market will bring a different kind of draw cities are increasingly seeing open in their neighborhoods. Like the new ballpark, the market is a bet more people can be drawn to the neighborhood, in turn increasing the Canal District's density and vitality. "Everyone's been talking about having a marketplace," said Allen Fletcher, the developer of the market and 48 apartment units being built above it. "It's a huge risk. ese things are not slam dunks." e Canal District is growing but still has few large employers for lunchtime crowds and few residents – as well as oen local vendors – unlike a food court more likely have a McDonald's or Dunkin' – are a major trend in food and retail. Food halls now number roughly 250 nationally, according to the real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. e total could hit or surpass 300 by the end of next year. By then, the food hall market will have tripled in size in just five years, according to the firm's analysis. Garrick Brown, a Cushman & Wakefield vice president and head of its retail research division for the Ameri- cas, doesn't see the food hall trend as a passing fad. For food vendors, they offer lower costs and, ideally, higher foot traf- fic than if restaurants were to try making a go on their own, he said. For diners, prices are typically lower, with a broad array of options available. With food halls opening in so many neighborhoods in larger cities, Brown said he isn't surprised they're now open- ing in smaller cities like Wilmington, Del., Omaha, Neb., and Greenville, S.C. "It depends on the execution and what they put to market," Brown said. "Just being in a smaller city doesn't nec- essarily mean you won't do really well. "Where they're successful," he added, "they're destinations in themselves." Food markets were once rarely seen outside denser European cities – where people can pick up a bite to eat or gro- ceries to make into meals at home later – are spreading in cities across the country at a time when brick-and-mortar retail is otherwise struggling to survive online shopping and other shiing trends. Boston has long had Quincy Market as a major tourist draw with dozens of food vendors. But it wasn't until Boston Public Market opened in 2015 it had for the first time a market with produce. Cheryl Cronin, the CEO of the Boston Public Market since 2016, said the mar- ket has been successful because it found the right mix of vendors and prioritized a fun experience and the right ambi- ance. e market is roughly split evenly between prepared foods, farms and specialty products. "It's not a situation of 'If you build it, they will come,' necessarily," Cronin said. "You want to curate a market like this." e market, which stands just outside the Haymarket MBTA station, one of the transit system's busiest, had 2.5 million visitors last year, Cronin said. Boston Public Market has quickly been joined by a series of other food halls in Boston. In 2016, the upscale Ital- ian food market Eataly Boston opened in the Prudential Center, replacing what had been a standard mall food court. is June, another market opened just a mile away: Time Out Market, a few blocks from Fenway Park. Two more are on the way: High Street Place, which is slated to open this fall in the city's Financial District, and one at the Hub on Causeway, a massive mixed-use development next to TD Garden. ese markets are capitalizing on con- sumers' shis toward higher-end food, more casual dining and an emphasis on experiences, said TJ Delle Donne, an assistant dean in the college of culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University in Providence. "ere's a need again for authentic- ity in food," said Delle Donne, calling food halls an example of a dining trend in which young diners seek out what's unique and new, particularly to share on social media. Beer, Worcester Wares & Vietnamese food Smaller cities in New England are adding food halls, too. In June, a food hall opened in Prov- idence called Plant City Providence exclusively selling vegan offerings. In Maine, Portland has the older-era Public Market House downtown while on the edge of the city, the mixed-use develop- ment Rock Row includes a planned beer and food hall. Now, Worcester is jumping in. Fletcher is making a bet both that people will choose to pay to live in a new building on Kelley Square – the first such apartments in the neighborhood, with rents ranging from $1,395 for a stu- dio to $2,295 for a two-bedroom – and that enough people will come into the market to keep vendors busy. "Foot traffic is definitely going to be important for economic sustainability," Delle Donne said. e market does have an advantage Developer Allen Fletcher: "Every- one's been talking about having a marketplace." The Worcester Public Market will take up the ground floor of the Kelley Square Lofts, the first major new apartment building in the city's Canal District.

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