Just when you thought there wasn’t room for another food hall in NYC, well, it turns out you’re wrong.
Remember DeKalb Market? It opened in 2011 on an empty lot on Flatbush Ave. in Downtown Brooklyn? Food and other vendors sold their wares out of repurposed shipping containers? Well, it’s back. Sort of.
The market was forced to close due to construction of City Point, a multi-use retail, office and residential development project at the site. But a new market concept with a similar name – DeKalb Market Hall – is slated to open in spring, 2016 inside City Point. The 26,000 square-foot food hall will have room for 55 vendors and two full-service restaurants.
There was a rumor that Katz’s Delicatessen would open up a satellite location at DeKalb, but that’s still just a rumor.
Confirmed vendors:
Pain D’Avignon
Arepa Lady
Ample Hills Creamery
Forcella Pizza
No. 6 Depot Coffee
Steve’s Ice Cream
Pierogi Bar
Cuzin’s Duzins
Sunday Gravy
Eight Turn Crepe
Duck Season
Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbeque
So who will visit the DeKalb Market Hall?
“We expect City Point to attract both Brooklyn and New York City residents, as well as those visiting from out of town,” said Anna Castellani, owner/ operator of the market. “DeKalb Market Hall’s customers will be an extension of that, welcoming any and everyone who is looking for a unique dining experience.”
Tucker Reed, President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, says the market will benefit new residents.
“We have over 12,000 units in development right now [in Downtown Brooklyn],” he told NY1. “We don’t have nearly enough restaurants and bars and nightlife to keep pace with that demand.”
Indeed, the area was rezoned in 2004 to make room for residential and office development.
City Point sits at the site of what was once the Albee Square Mall and at one end of the Fulton Mall, which has also seen a drastic change in character over the past several years. New tenants include Banana Republic, Nordstrom Rack and H&M.
“Downtown Brooklyn currently lacks a food destination that accommodates its diverse population,” said Castellani. “DeKalb Market Hall will fill a huge void.”
