Food Hall News
Food hall news for Thursday, Oct. 15: Nolu Hall opens in Seattle, Mills 50 seeks an Asian food hall and Barnes & Noble eyes Potluck’s space
Heavy Restaurant Group opens Nolu Hall in Fremont after closing Purple Cafe, Orlando developers push a Mills 50 Asian food hall at the old Colonialtown post office, Barnes & Noble may take Rosedale’s Potluck space, and SFO opens bidding on a Terminal 3 food hall lease.
- 1OpeningSeattle
Heavy Restaurant Group opens Nolu Hall, a four-concept food hall, in Purple Cafe’s former Fremont space
Nolu Hall
Heavy Restaurant Group has opened Nolu Hall at 3400 Stone Way N. in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported Oct. 14. The four-concept food hall fills the space left when Purple Cafe and Wine Bar closed this summer after the company said the location could not generate enough sales to stay viable. Nolu Hall combines a pizza restaurant, a burger joint, a grain bowl spot and a wine bar under one roof, according to the Journal. Heavy Restaurant Group CEO Larry Kurofsky had confirmed plans for a new Stone Way concept after the August closure, and What Now Seattle had reported the fall target while details were still being worked out. Heavy still operates Purple Cafe locations downtown and in Woodinville, plus Pablo y Pablo, Hal’s Sports Bar and Hushy’s Sandwiches.
Why it matters Replacing a single full-service restaurant with several of your own counters is one way operators try to reset a space that was not selling enough as a traditional dining room.
Sources: Puget Sound Business Journal, Oct. 14, 2026; What Now Seattle, Aug. 14, 2026 (background)Browse our Washington guide - 2DevelopmentOrlando, Fla.
Developers seek approvals for a 9,000-square-foot Asian food hall at Orlando’s former Colonialtown Post Office
Mills 50 Asian food hall (planned)
Patrick Dang and Thinh Nguyen are advancing plans to replace the former Colonialtown Post Office at 611 N. Mills Ave. with a two-story Asian food hall, Hoodline reported Oct. 14, citing the Orlando Business Journal. The pair bought the roughly three-quarter-acre site in 2017 for $1.3 million and want to replace the existing about 7,200-square-foot postal building with a 9,000-square-foot hall, with ground-floor food stalls and professional offices upstairs. Preliminary city filings request rezoning from office to restaurant use, a parking variance and approval to sell alcohol within 1,000 feet of Hillcrest Elementary across Mills Avenue, according to WFTV as cited by Hoodline. GrowthSpotter reported in 2024 that Dang wanted an Asian food hall modeled on the style of a grocery food court, after COVID and a five-year lease extension kept the post office operating through 2025. USPS suspended Colonialtown service in July 2025 after the lease was not renewed.
Why it matters Clearing a long-occupied civic site still leaves rezoning, parking and alcohol variances as the gates that decide whether a neighborhood food hall gets built.
Sources: Hoodline, Oct. 14, 2026; Orlando Business Journal, Oct. 14, 2026; GrowthSpotter, Aug. 1, 2024 (background)Browse our Florida guide - 3ClosingRoseville, Minn.
Barnes & Noble may take Potluck’s space at Rosedale Center as the food hall closes this month
Potluck at Rosedale Center
Rosedale Center’s Potluck food hall is set to close this month after seven years, and Barnes & Noble may move into the space from nearby HarMar Mall, the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal reported Oct. 12. The Journal said Rosedale has not publicly named the next tenant, but a building permit application for demolition and related work points to Barnes & Noble. Potluck’s mid-October closing was first reported Oct. 7 by the Star Tribune and FOX 9, which named tenants including OG ZaZa Pizza, Smack Shack, Legendary Spice, Black Coffee & Waffle Bar and Tio’s Tacos. Mall management had said it hoped to announce a replacement by early next year.
Why it matters When a mall food hall closes, the next use is not always another hall. A big-box bookstore taking the box shows how landlords can reset the space without multi-vendor dining.
Sources: Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, Oct. 12, 2026; Star Tribune, Oct. 7, 2026 (background); FOX 9, Oct. 7, 2026 (background)See it in our Minnesota guide - 4LeasingSan Francisco
SFO opens a short proposal window for a Terminal 3 food hall lease totaling about 10,895 square feet
SFO Terminal 3 food hall (concession)
San Francisco International Airport opened the RFP portal for its Terminal 3 Food Hall and Sit-Down Restaurant and Terminal 2 Burger Quick Serve Restaurant Lease from Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. through Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. Pacific, according to the airport’s concession page. Bid materials describe three post-security locations totaling about 10,895 square feet: a 7,000-square-foot food hall in Terminal 3, a 2,823-square-foot sit-down restaurant in Terminal 3 Boarding Area E, and a 1,072-square-foot burger quick-serve restaurant in Terminal 2. The solicitation was released Sept. 30 and closes Oct. 21.
Why it matters Airport food halls run on short, formal bid windows, so operators who want a major post-security hall have only days to respond once proposals open.
Sources: San Francisco International Airport, Oct. 14, 2026; Starbridge (SFO RFP summary), closes Oct. 21, 2026Browse our California guide
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