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Chef sees recipe for success at Dayton’s Project

Clare Kennedy//December 12, 2017//

Chef Andrew Zimmern is collaborating with Robert Montwaid, a New York-based entrepreneur, on a new food hall and market concept for The Dayton’s Project at 700 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The two will begin recruiting possible vendors after the first of the year. (Submitted Illustration: 601w Cos.)

Chef Andrew Zimmern is collaborating with Robert Montwaid, a New York-based entrepreneur, on a new food hall and market concept for The Dayton’s Project at 700 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The two will begin recruiting possible vendors after the first of the year. (Submitted Illustration: 601w Cos.)

Chef sees recipe for success at Dayton’s Project

Clare Kennedy//December 12, 2017//

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Chef and TV star Andrew Zimmern is collaborating with a partner out of New York on a food hall and market concept destined for The Dayton’s Project in downtown Minneapolis.

Zimmern is the creator, executive producer and host of the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Food” franchise and co-owner of St. Louis Park-based Passport Hospitality and Andrew Zimmern’s Canteen. He and his partner, Robert Montwaid, have signed a lease for a 40,000-square-foot, two-level space at the site at the former Macy’s store at 700 Nicollet Mall.

Andrew Zimmern (Bloomberg file photo)
Andrew Zimmern (Bloomberg file photo)

Montwaid is the co-founder of a similar concept in New York, the Gansevoort Market in the city’s Meatpacking District.

The Zimmern-Montwaid venture is the first retail tenant to commit to the site, a 1.2 million-square-foot complex which is slated for a sweeping overhaul spearheaded by the owner, New York-based 601w Cos. The food hall, which is known as Dayton’s Food Hall & Market for now, is on a 24-month construction schedule and should open in mid-2019.

The food hall will occupy portions of the ground floor and basement level, said Tricia Pitchford, senior vice president of leasing for the Twin Cities office of Chicago-based Mid-America Real Estate, which is recruiting retail tenants.

She declined to release any other specifics about the terms of the lease, but said the hope is that the food hall will be the anchor tenant for the 240,000-square-foot retail component of the site, which will be centered on a soaring atrium.

“All three floors, from the lower level to the skyway, will be opened up visually so that you can see all the way up and down,” Pitchford said Tuesday.

Zimmern said Tuesday that the “spectacular” setting and the central location make it the perfect fit for his concept, which has been in the works for years.

“This dates all the way back to Midtown Global Market [in Minneapolis’ Powderhorn Neighborhood]. When it opened I said, ‘Oh, my gosh. Why wasn’t this put in downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul?’” Zimmern said in an interview. “I have profiled markets in over 100 countries, and I’m a food hall buff. I think they are fantastic catalysts when they’re in the right buildings.”

Food halls are springing up across the Twin Cities. This fall, renowned chef Tim McKee opened a food hall called Market House Collaborative which recently opened at Lenny Russo’s former Heartland restaurant space in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood. There are also food halls in the works for Minneapolis’ Prospect Park neighborhood and St. Paul’s Schmidt Brewery complex.

None of these is quite big enough to suit Zimmern’s aspirations.

“Every opportunity for a market in the Twin Cities has crossed my desk, but nothing was the right fit. They were located in places that could be very successful, but not to the degree I wanted to be involved in,” said Zimmern, a four-time winner of James Beard Awards for his television work. “They were more neighborhood-oriented, rather than statewide and nationwide drivers. I always wanted to be involved in something that would be a national showcase.”

Zimmern’s concept will include a mix of traditional food vendors, concierge food services, a food business incubator, entertainment, and basic services like florists and shoeshines. Offerings at the market will skew toward the fresh, bespoke and artisanal.

“There are tens of thousands of people officing within a five-block radius of us, and we have very ambitious intentions of being able to reach all of them at lunchtime. If they can’t walk to us through the skyway, we will be serving them,” Zimmern said. “Our vision is for them to be able to order a side of salmon, half a dozen artichokes and four lemons and have it ready for them to pick up at 5, deliver it to their office or get it through curbside pickup.”

Zimmern said that he and Montwaid have not yet worked out the details of their business model, such as how many vendors will be included or whether they will sublease space at the market. He said they will begin tapping possible vendors after the first of the year.

He added that there is room to expand should the venture be a success.

Pitchford said Mid-America is in talks with national and local users for the remaining 200,000 square feet of retail space. The rest of the building will be dedicated to creative office space and building amenities.

Right now The Dayton’s Project is in the demolition and abatement phase, said Cailin Rogers, a spokesperson for 601w. Construction has not yet begun in earnest.

In addition to Mid-America, 601w is working with Chicago-based Telos Group, which is handling office leasing at the site, and Minneapolis-based developer United Properties.

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