MONARCH REALTY CO. SIGNS AS FIRST ONE-FOR-ONE PARTNER WITH HABITAT WAKE
Apr 23, 2021
Construction is planned to start this year on the Saxapahaw General Store location at Transfer Co. Food Hall.
“It will be the anchor grocery tenant in the building,” Transfer Co. co-founder Jason Queen said on this week’s WRAL Out and About Podcast.
Saxapahaw General will be on the middle floor, adjacent to the spacious outdoor courtyard.
“You’ll be able to see straight through the food hall or vice versa. It kind of completes the overall food experience on the site,” Queen said.
The food hall, which opened in 2019, occupies a 50,000 square-foot space at 500 E. Davie St. in downtown Raleigh. Saxapahaw General’s flagship location is at 1735 Saxapahaw-Bethlehem Church Road in Saxapahaw.
The grocery will be joining 11 other food and drink vendors, including Burial Beer and Benchwarmer Bagels, at the hall. Although the hall has faced challenges due to the pandemic, Queen said the hall is committed to keeping customers and vendors safe.
“It’s been a balancing act for sure, trying to keep the public safe, keeping our vendors safe, working with our tenants…making sure that our entire team understands our methodology and they feel good about coming to work every day,” Queen said.
The large capacity of the building and its spacious outdoor patio have helped the hall deal with requirements for reduced capacity.
“We have the benefit of a large dining space and an amazing patio area that work within those guidelines,” Queen said. “There could be 150 people in our food hall and it looks empty.”
Transfer Co. Food hall is located in the historic Carolina Coach Garage and Shop, which used to be a bus transfer hub.
“Food halls in old buildings make a ton of sense. And it is part of the experience of being in the food hall. And there’s something there that’s pretty unique that you can’t replicate with new construction,” Queen said. “It just takes time for that feeling and that vibe to occur.”
When the space became available, Queen said at the time food halls weren’t nearly as popular.
“Back then, nobody knew what a food hall was, including myself, but we knew what true production hubs were in food related businesses and we knew the neighborhood. I live in the neighborhood,” he said. “We really wanted to make sure that whatever we created had a sense of community, where the community had a sense of ownership in it.”
In addition to food vendors, there is a ballroom space for event rentals and co-working space.
Transfer Co. Food Hall’s outdoor courtyard has been popular with pop-up markets as well, with many using the space for weekend events.
Transfer Co. Food Hall is open for dine-in, take-out and delivery.