We're publishing everything we've learned
We sat down in January and made a list of what we wanted to get done this year. Last year we launched a remarkable project in Atlanta, which was an ambitious project for us (during a pandemic). As that project stabilizes, we’re starting to design our eighth generation of food halls. As we discussed what that might mean, I started to look at each successive iteration of our designs and remember where we were in that particular stage of our journey. I remember the challenges that we had at each new design, but also the risks that we took in delivering new ideas. Sure, building is simple in theory, but there are many ways to solve a problem that, consequently, create two more problems. I’d like to think that overtime we’ve specialized in how not to do this.
Post-pandemic interest in food halls hasn’t slowed and that means two things: 1) people love the experience they provide, and 2) they are applicable in more settings. Our latest designs have been the most open in terms of new ideas and experiences. We included a full-service, multi-chef experience called Chefs’ Table. We’ve gotten bolder with our bars. And we’ve doubled our throughput, while improving guest satisfaction. And, we’re blessed with the best assemblage of teammates that we’ve ever had. And yet for every successful decision we’ve made, we’ve passed over (or tried) five to six solutions that wouldn’t (or didn’t) work. Part of the fun of our senior-citizen-status in the industry is that we’ve gotten to see a lot of things.
You might expect me to make a consulting pitch here. But, I am going to do just the opposite.
Over the course of 2022 (and likely into 2023), we’re going to publish every lesson we’ve ever learned about the food hall business on our website in around 100 articles. Our goal in doing this is to build a knowledge-base for the industry that is readable and searchable—to improve transparency, conversation, and overall knowledge of the inner-workings of great food halls. And yes, we’ll still consult, but our goal in consulting is to minimize costs and vet real projects (to focus on the applications of this knowledge)—In the end, we love building and operating compelling spaces with partners. For 2022, we decided that giving away “the findings” of our industry is the best (shortest) route to great operating partnerships.
This was our first food hall. We started in 2014. I can see so many great decisions and a few no so great ones!
It is our hope that when we do consult for people, we minimize their costs while maximizing value with efficient, beautiful designs that customers love. Then, we’d like to build and operate those designs. Or, occasionally, support them with back office solutions.
Along the way we are going to cover some serious ground. We’re going to talk technically about accounting, vendor selection, lease agreements, financial structures, bars, human resources, security, and more. We’re also going to talk a lot about team building, design, guest satisfaction, hospitality, training, and great food hall entrepreneurs.
If you want to receive the notification of new posts, enter your email below. We expect to post new articles every week or so until we get to 100.
- Will Donaldson, Founder/CEO Politan Group
P.S. We will periodically review older pieces and add updates, which we will date and version control.
Politan Group specializes in operating food halls, bars, and bars within food halls. We also provide remote accounting, HR, and administration for food halls. Finally, we sell software that organizes much of the routine processes. If you are thinking of building a food hall or need help with an aspect of a food hall you already own, reach out to us. Politan is the most-awarded food hall operator in the industry.