By Marco Shalma

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the idea of a food hall is solid. New Yorkers love choice. We love a space where a group can eat together without fighting over the menu. That part makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is the way developers keep copy-pasting the same lifeless model and pretending it’s culture.⁠

They’re not building community anchors. They’re building revenue engines. High rents disguised as “opportunity.” Overpriced stalls sold to operators chasing a dream they can’t afford to maintain. And when the foot traffic doesn’t show up — because these halls never speak to the neighborhood they sit in — the vendors take the hit while the landlord updates their brochure.⁠