HATCH LOCAL FOOD HALL
Hatch Local Food Hall is the first venue of its kind in the Richmond area, bringing together 7 local vendors, a grab-and-go market, coffee bar, full-service cocktail bar, private event space, and indoor and outdoor dining. Spanning two ground-floor tenant suites with a shared courtyard and street-side patio, the space was conceived as a restaurant incubator, giving each food vendor a platform to test and grow its concept. Dining areas line the storefront perimeter, while warm, wood-accented vendor stalls anchor the core of the space. Custom seating, lighting, signage, and coordinated vendor stalls create a cohesive identity across the diverse offerings.
The project occupies two tenant suites and a shared courtyard on the ground level of The Current, a full-city-block development with more than 200 apartments, a 300-space parking deck, a 6-story office building, and additional retail along the Hull Street corridor in Manchester. Just a few blocks from the James River, the rapidly redeveloping neighborhood has welcomed significant residential growth but historically offered few dining options.
Creating an equitable contribution to the surrounding economic and culinary community was central to both the business model and design. The Food Hall provides a pathway for small restaurant startups that might not otherwise have the resources to open a full restaurant, allowing local entrepreneurs to launch with lower startup costs. Shared kitchen amenities and collective marketing increase visibility while creating a supportive platform for emerging food businesses. The Food Hall also adds accessible employment opportunities and new food and drink options to the Manchester neighborhood, contributing to the continued revitalization of a long-neglected commercial corridor.
The project demonstrates how a restrained palette of affordable materials can create a backdrop for carefully placed moments of richness. Budget-conscious finishes establish hierarchy through shifts in color, proportion, and scale, while upgraded custom millwork and imported tile are concentrated at vendor and bar locations. Economical fixtures provide general illumination, allowing resources to be redirected toward custom feature lighting in key dining areas.
Drawing from lessons learned on previous food hall projects, we carefully coordinated commercial kitchen consultation, procurement, layout, and installation. Flexible equipment hookups, touchscreen points of sale, and modular furniture arrangements were incorporated to create a resilient framework capable of adapting as the restaurant industry continues to evolve. Flexibility was treated as an important design principle from the outset of design. Throughout the project, this flexibility was treated as an important design principle rather than an afterthought. Vendor stalls were coordinated to support distinct identities while maintaining a shared architectural language, and furniture layouts can shift between everyday dining, larger gatherings, and events. The result is a space that feels cohesive without asking each concept to look the same, allowing the Food Hall to evolve alongside the businesses it was created to support.
Location
Richmond, VA
Size
8,500 SF
Date
2022
Photographer
Justin Whiteford
Project Team