Tampa’s Hall on Franklin won’t make it to 2021. Today, Jamal Wilson, who opened The Hall on Franklin in Tampa Heights in 2017, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that his Tampa Heights food hall is closing on Dec. 15.
Wilson also told CL that he is moving forward with plans to open the Hall in Midtown Tampa, just three miles north on I-275. The restaurateur also said that he’s got plans to move forward with a food hall at a new site in St. Petersburg.
“As great as the original Franklin Street site was, there are certain things we were not able to do there, such as outside dining, adding a private dining room and other amenities that are especially important amid COVID-19,” Wilson told CL.
In March, like many local restaurants, the Hall, located at 1701 N. Franklin St., temporarily closed because of COVID-19.
Over the summer—just weeks before the food hall eventually reopened in June—The Hall on Franklin faced eviction when it was served with a lawsuit. In the suit, A2 LLC, which owns the historic Farris Building that is home to the Hall (and CL Tampa Bay’s offices and event space on the second floor), filed court documents saying A2 terminated a lease held by Vigor Group LLC on May 16. The lawsuit alleges that Vigor Group—controlled by Wilson—defaulted on its lease after failing to pay April and May rent. “A2 is seeking $47,486.57 in back rent...,” Tampa Bay Business Journal wrote about the action.
But by mid-October, Wilson announced plans to open a Hall concept within a 17,323-square-foot space in Atlanta. The project joined two other Wilson projects, including the Hall at Midtown Tampa and a still-under-construction food hall in Orlando.
The loss of Hall on Franklin is significant since it was the first food hall concept in Tampa Bay. Over the years, the Hall hosted some of the area’s most notable restaurants, including the since-relocated Bake ‘N Babes (with its Lizzo-approved Freak Shake), and local favorite North Star.
This is a developing story, and CL has an appointment to speak with Wilson on Thursday morning.
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