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Politan Row CEO Will Donaldson is searching for first- and second-time restaurateurs with niche food concepts for his new Rice Village food hall. The menus won't follow the trinity of burgers, tacos and poke. His goal is to have something unique and seriously buzzy.
"A place food people talk about food," Donaldson said.
Donaldson will discuss Politan Row at Bisnow's Destination Making event Sept. 12.
Politan Row Houston will feature items customers cannot get elsewhere. The mid-century-inspired project will feature 12 vendors: 10 outposts for chefs; a coffee shop; and a Tequila-focused cocktail bar, Bar Politan. The 7,350 SF food hall is at 2445 Times Blvd.
Three concepts were just announced: Breaking Bao, a bao buns concept from Phillip Kim, owner of the food truck Breaking Bao; Cochinita & Co., a Mexican tacos and ceviche concept from Victoria Elizondo; and Susu Kopi and Boba, an all-day Indonesian-inspired coffeehouse by sisters Niken and Ecky Prabanto of Houston powerhouse Greenway Coffee.
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Donaldson entered the food hall business about five years ago with his first project, St. Roch in New Orleans. It has become wildly successful, and since then he has launched additional halls in Chicago and Miami.
The mission behind Politan Row is to give creative people an opportunity to explore their craft, Donaldson said. With lower startup costs than traditional restaurants, food halls create more accessibility and diversity within the restaurant industry.
At Politan Row, customers can interact with the chef, who is often present cooking and serving.
“Everything tastes better when it is made by the guy or gal that had the dream," he said.
A proliferation of interesting food concepts has sprung from the expansion of the food hall trend. There are a slew of food halls open, under construction or planned in Houston.
Politan Row Houston is set to open in November.
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