New food hall concept reaches St. Joseph

A unique venue has arrived in Saint Joseph.

The House Food and Tap sits downtown at the intersection of Second Avenue Northwest and Minnesota Street, the only non-developed lot on the main street of town.

The property is owned by Craig and BriAnne Hern.

The House will contain three restaurants — featuring smash burgers, brick oven pizza and a garden bar, and Hawaiian/Polynesian cuisine — a coffee shop, and a 30-tap pour wall with 16 non-alcoholic options.

Last fall, after purchasing the vacant lot, the Herns decided that it made sense to get as much community feedback as possible regarding the use and purpose of their space.

“We knew how critical it was to ensure the community has a voice in the development of this space,” BriAnne Hern explained to the Times. “We put up a billboard on the lot that stated, 'Your ideas coming soon!' We had hundreds of responses that were gathered over about three months and compiled them into a word cloud where the larger words were more prevalent in the feedback.”

A groundbreaking took place on Aug. 19.

“While we entered the project with an open mind, it quickly became clear that our community was hoping for a gathering space with food and drink options,” she said. “A sort of ‘third place’ concept where the community can collaborate and learn from one another.”

The couple worked with HMA Architect, out of St. Cloud, and BCI builders, from Sauk Rapids, to create a plan for a micro version of a food hall that would, according to Hern, fit in the space, hit the feedback noted by the community, and provide multiple options for anyone who visits.

“Given the small size of the lot, we wanted to maximize the experience of the patrons while ensuring a first-class environment for the chef-owners within,” Hern said. “St. Joe is a very special small community that thrives from community connection and collaboration. Our city’s Comprehensive Plan includes a desire to grow commercial business opportunities that benefit our town. Given the feedback from the community, we feel strongly that the five businesses operating within will provide a fun atmosphere for the community, offer dozens of new job opportunities…”

The couple traveled to several Minnesota food halls to explore different ideas, and they were intrigued by the overall concept.

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A food hall is a central location featuring many restaurants in a cafeteria-like setting. The Herns believe food halls are excellent community hubs that offer a place for patrons to try new food and connect with one another.

They also hope to integrate music and the arts into the project.

The number of food halls within the U.S. is expected to increase by 50% over the next several years, according to a report last year from The Food Institute.

Other studies show the concept of food halls has spread widely during the last decade, when data began being gathered. Back then, nearly one in three were in New York City, but now many can be found from Alabama to Ohio and, yes, Central Minnesota.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: New food hall concept reaches St. Joseph