A Downtown Minneapolis Food Hall Taps a Celebrity Chef to Run It

The ground floor and subterranean levels of the historic downtown Minneapolis Dayton’s will be transformed into a massive food hall courtesy of Minnesota’s best-known culinary personality. Andrew Zimmern’s Passport Hospitality has teamed with Robert Montwaid of New York’s Gansevoort Market for the The Dayton’s Project.

The two levels of 700 Nicollet Mall will have 40,000 square feet of market space to include several vendors, a business incubator, bakers, butchers, cheesemongers, entertainment, and more. The lower level is already set for food service, where it was once the Marketplace with several food stands and a couple of small shops.

This thrilling prospect for a downtown Minneapolis dining draw is the first major announcement for what The Dayton’s Project will become. The multilevel department store and offices were originally Dayton’s Department Store (a name many obstinate Minnesotans still use.) The company was founded in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. The flagship store and offices above it slowly devolved from glamorous department store to a half-empty Macy’s. Ultimately, the long, slow death of what was once a crown jewel in our downtown metro closed — after an auction of weird, forgotten pieces of a grand legacy — earlier this year.

The Dayton’s Project

In October, it was announced that developers had purchased the building with the grand plan to restore the building.

The Dayton’s Project expects to open in early 2019.

• Dayton’s Revitalization Includes a Food Hall [ETC]
• It’s Getting Weird at Downtown Macy’s [CP]
• New Food Hall by Andrew Zimmern for Dayton's Project [MPSMag]