Market at Malcolm Yards Eyes Second Location in St. Louis Park
Don’t underestimate Patty Wall. Plenty of people told her it was ill-advised to open a food hall in the dilapidated Harris Machinery building in Prospect Park. Built more than 130 years ago, the already aging structure was significantly damaged by a fire in 2016, less than a year after she and her husband, real estate developer John Wall of the Wall Companies, purchased the building in Minneapolis for over $1.8 million.
But fast forward to today, and the site is now home to the bustling Market at Malcolm Yards food hall, which is near Huntington Bank Stadium and continues to draw crowds on and off game days. The market has nine different kitchens and a bar. And Wall isn’t done: With almost four years of operations under her belt at the Prospect Park site, she now has plans for a second location. This time, she’s targeting the suburbs.
In an interview with TCB, Wall said she’s partnered with local real estate company Hempel Real Estate on initial plans for a second food hall in St. Louis Park. Her goal is to open a 40,000-square-foot hall with 14 kitchens and a rooftop deck in the western suburb. The partners are working through details on a specific location for new space. And although she said it’s too early to commit to a specific location, it’s worth noting that Hempel owns Shops at West End and is working on redevelopment plans for its vacancies, including at the recently shuttered Anthropologie store.
Wall is confident that St. Louis Park is the right spot for a new food hall. “I’ve learned, from traveling around the country and being an owner-operator, that there are certain things that will make a food hall successful and certain things that will make it tank,” she said. “You need dedicated parking, you need event space, and you need density.”
Wall said she’s been in talks with the planning commission and city council members in St. Louis Park on the project, though no formal documentation has been filed yet. “They know what we’re doing,” she said of St. Louis Park city leaders. “But as far as permits, we’re not to that stage yet.”
Wall’s intention is to get the new location up and running by early 2026.
Her plans don’t stop in St. Louis Park, either; working with Hempel, she also aims to one day open another concept in the LaSalle Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, which Hempel purchased in 2023.
“I used to work downtown, and I love downtown,” Wall said. “I can’t wait to see it fully restored.”
This wouldn’t be Hempel’s first food hall concept in a downtown area. The company is a partner in the 3rd Street Market Hall, which opened in downtown Milwaukee just about three years ago.
Amid a massive upheaval in commercial real estate in the Twin Cities and around the country, food halls might be one creative way to repurpose office buildings and shopping centers. The mass exodus of retailers big and small continues to leave holes in a number of malls, including Burnsville Center and Maplewood Mall, which both lost anchor tenant Macy’s.
