If size matters, then Delray Beach will soon have bragging rights to the biggest food hall in the state.
Costing $60 million, standing four stories tall and spanning 150,000 square feet, the Delray Beach Market will open this spring and bring 150-200 jobs to the region.
When the huge food market opens — just half-a-block south of the buzzy dining/drinking/entertainment enclave Atlantic Avenue — there will be soaring spaces housing more than 25 vendors capable of handling 2,000 visitors a day.
Some of the stress of finding parking for all those potential customers in downtown Delray Beach will be eased somewhat with a 220-car, four-level enclosed parking garage in the new building at 33 SE Third Ave.
“Downtown Delray obviously has a very eclectic food and beverage menualready,” says Jordana Jarjura, president and general counsel for Menin Development, which is developing the food hall. “But if you really dive into it, its missing ... authentic cuisine, whether it’s ethnic Lebanese or Japanese or Chinese. We also will have healthy quick-serve breakfast. We’re looking forward to being a full service, gathering place, food market.”
Most food halls, both here in South Florida and elsewhere, are usually around 10,000 to 15,000 square feet and are built with kiosks in existing structures. The Delray Beach Market is a flagship project for the city and is being built specifically as a national destination market experience, say the investors.
So far, about 25 vendors have agreed to enter Delray Beach Market, including ground-floor anchor restaurants such as:
- Sorella’s, an artisanal handmade pasta house under the auspices of Florida native chef Jimmy Everett, who has helmed restaurants such as Marea in New York City and Al Molo in Hong Kong.
- Bona Bona Ice Cream, an over-the-top ice cream shop known for its Boozy Bar milkshakes.
- Tekka Bar, a hand-roll sushi eatery and eclectic sake bar developed by Las Vegas restaurateurs Takashi Segawa and Oliver Wharton.
- Tiffin Box, a fast-fresh Indian concept spotlighting flavors and recipes from various regions of the subcontinent.
Who is behind the foodie forward venue?
Menin Development broke ground for the food hall in 2017 at a location that had been a vacant apartment building for some time. Menin is also behind the boutique Ray Hotel in Delray Beach’s Pineapple Grove Arts District slated to open in the summer of 2021.
The Delray Beach-based company has signed up Clique Hospitality to curate the food vendors and pop-ups as well as manage the food hall. Clique owns Lionfish and Johnnie Brown’s in Delray Beach as well as several Las Vegas and California restaurants.
Clique has leveraged its international contacts to bring in celebrity chefs for personal appearances and foodie favorite restaurants for pop-ups.
“We’ve been curating vendors for a little more than a year and a half,” says Craig O’Keefe, a managing partner and director of operations for Clique Hospitality. “The entire building is surrounded by glass. You’re going to see these chefs hard at work, throwing pizzas or rolling sushi. Every day will be a show for the people making your food.”
Menin’s Jarjura, a former vice mayor in Delray Beach, adds that Menin and Clique have been reaching out to visual artists — both regional and international — for the Delray Beach Market. “We want this to be an interactive feast for your eye and a feast for your mouth,” she says.
O’Keefe continues, “We have a really, really fantastic art program, so there are many opportunities to experience something new every time you come to the market. We want to be this really positive beacon of energy off of Atlantic Avenue.”
He says they are also working with local high schools and colleges for intern programs. There will also be stage area and a chef’s kitchen for cooking classes and demonstrations. Intern hopefuls and people interested in staging a demonstration should go to DelrayBeachMarket.com for more information. “I would be super happy to have people reach out there,” O’Keefe says.
What will it be like?
- Those demonstrations, cooking/baking classes and chef tutorials will chiefly take place on the mezzanine level with its open kitchen surrounded by lounge areas and a bar. There is also space for private and corporate events.
- The first floor and mezzanine level will have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating areas as well as take-out/pick-up spots.
- A central bar will have a build-your-own Bloody Mary station along with a menu of seasonal cocktails. There will also be a craft beer bar on the ground floor featuring local breweries.
- Throughout the rest of the food hall, the food vendors will be displayed against a backdrop of large interactive murals and sculptures.
Jarjura explains that the the design of the booths was intentionally kept spare. “We really want it to be as little design of the booth as possible, so you can showcase the chef.”
The space is adaptable and takes advantage of al fresco dining with NanaWalls (collapsible folding glass walls), glass garage doors, patio areas (the mezzanine has outdoor seating for 200) and 15-18 foot sidewalk seating on the pedestrian level.
“We have lots of indoor/outdoor seating and touchless everything,” Jarjura says. “We eliminated seven vendors so we could spread out more. We didn’t know if 2021 would bring more distancing or not.”