Dublin's first purpose-built gourmet food hall has opened in a specially designed mall that links Middle Abbey Street with Lower Liffey Street. The first hurdle facing the owner of the new venture, property developer Joe Layden, will be to convince the sophisticated end of the market that his Epicurean Food Hall lives up the name, because over the years the term "food hall" has been so misused. Supermarkets regularly call their deli sections food halls and even shopping malls use the term to describe where their cluster of burger joints are located.
However, this northside food hall really does live up to its name.
At the 24 open-plan units, shoppers are offered a range of freshly prepared food from crab claws with Asian butter at Caviston's stand to the prettiest looking French pastries at the Creme de la Creme patisserie.
"The market we'll be appealing to are people who have a healthy disregard for cooking," says Mr Layden. "The emphasis in all the units is on quality food, freshly made so people can come in and pick up an entire meal to take away."
The project has taken four years from the original idea and in that time Joe Layden has certainly assembled an impressive list of unit holders. Ex-Guilbaud man Olivier Quenet specialises in French food, Stephano Crezcenzi, who is private chef to the Italian Ambassador, has taken a unit with David Izzo and they offer delicious anti pasta and sandwiches, and organic food specialists Danny O'Toole and Dick Wellwood stock organic meat, dairy produce and vegetables. Other units offer juices, bagels, spices, cheeses, coffees, ice cream and exotic Turkish food, as well as coffee shops and restaurants. Joe Layden has taken a unit himself, which is the food hall's wine shop.
It's an ambitious venture and it is part of a £15 million development - Mr Layden has built an apartment development over the food hall. The key to the success of the food venture, he believes, will be careful, ongoing management by his company and he certainly has some experience in the area. His daughter, Gwen, manages another Layden property, the South City Markets, on South Great George's Street and he feels the same hands-on management will be required on Lower Liffey Street.
The majority of the 24 tenants are signed up for 35-year leases and none were asked to pay key money for the units that range in size from 1,500 sq ft to 100 sq ft. Mr Layden has held back five of the central kiosks until he sees how the mix of tenants is working. "When the place is up and running, we will be able to see if there is anything missing in terms of what we're offering," he says. "And we'll fill the kiosks accordingly."
Food bought at open plan units can be eaten on the premises, as there are a limited number of seats but the general idea is that shoppers will take their gourmet purchases home with them.
While the Epicurean does not have the natural old-fashioned atmosphere of the English Market in Cork, or even of the South City Markets, on the other side of the Liffey, it does offer a great range of exotic, freshly made good food to take away and it is that choice that should lure shoppers into the area.
