The Washington Avenue Food Hall is set to open in downtown St. Louis this spring as part of a plan to revitalize the area.
The new venue at 1120 Washington Ave. will be home to eight local food vendors and two bars, said Alex Oliver, CEO of Oliver Properties. He said that the vendors have not been selected yet but that he wants to provide a variety of known local restaurant owners and smaller businesses.
“Ideally, we want a really good mix of people that have existing following and reputation, thinking Ben Poremba or Gerard Craft,” Oliver said. “But also maybe local operators who have a food truck and are looking to expand.”
Florida-based hospitality and food hall company Fireten Hospitality will operate the bar and the business itself, Oliver said.
Oliver has been investing in properties, primarily apartment buildings, on Washington Avenue for the past few years with the goal of making it a more hospitable street for visitors and residents.
“This is really one of the most iconic streets, not only in the city, but honestly in the country,” Oliver said. “We've been very excited about the incredible results we've seen when we focus on building this up as a neighborhood, a place for residents, a place for businesses, a place for retailers, where people can succeed.”
Oliver Properties owns about 600 apartments downtown, including the Six Cord and Vanguard Loft apartment buildings.
Citing the success of the City Foundry food hall that opened in midtown in 2021, Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge said he hopes this continues to revitalize Washington Avenue and downtown St. Louis.
“I’m thinking that this is not only just going to add to the success and the momentum downtown, but hopefully we start to see more development like this,” Aldridge said.
The space will seat 230 indoors and outdoors and have a retractable roof. Construction is scheduled to take about six months.
Nearby businesses include newly opened restaurant the Moniker and breakfast spot Rooster.
This endeavor is part of a larger trend of St. Louis investing in its downtown area. The city has recently broken ground on several street repair projects and supported new businesses in an effort to revitalize downtown.
