As they mature, food halls go to college and move out to the suburbs

Concept once confirmed to large cities expands to campuses and surrounding communities

A food hall may be opening near you — even if you’re in a suburb, a rural town or the latest frontier for these centers of cutting-edge cuisine, a college campus. These communal dining spaces lined with testing grounds for ambitious local chefs experimenting with their newest concepts, once found only in a few major cities, are branching out to a growing population of foodies. The US has about 360 food halls, up from 220 in 2019, according to a report by brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. Another 127 food halls are under development around the country, with most of them expected to open this year or in 2024.