Open to the public, the community will have easy access to the Waterworks Food Hall, which will be designed to recall the site’s original use as one of Toronto’s four food markets.
This comes at an opportunistic time for the community as the food hall trend is going gangbusters, and it might even be good for your health.
“There are tremendous benefits to eating with others, especially for people who live alone,” notes Rena Mendelson, a professor of nutrition at Ryerson University. “It can provide socialization, and its incentive to eat a varied diet, instead of eating the same things night after night, alone at home.”
Food halls have a long a tradition in Europe, but the trend started building here in 2010, when famed foodies Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich opened the first North American outpost of the high-end Italian food hall called Eataly. The concept was hugely popular and sparked a trend that has since spread to large and medium-sized cities across the continent.
Different from a food court – a term used to denote blandly designed fast food markets in malls – a food hall is part restaurant, part food market, and part community centre. Offerings usually include artisanal and local food products and are gathered around flexible, communal seating.
Variety is key, notes Mendelson. “If this becomes a place to eat regularly, how does the consumer find variety? That’s an important factor.” The Waterworks food hall will host a variety of vendors, skylight and communal seating overlooking the neighbouring St. Andrew’s Playground.