Shortly after Revival Food Hall announced it would close at the end of the month, an Atlanta-based hospitality management company announced Wednesday that it would take over operations immediately.
STHRN Hospitality, which operates similar food halls in cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta and Cincinnati, will oversee Revival’s 14 vendors as well as the central bar at the National Building, 125 S. Clark St.
Kelly Campbell, one of the partners at STHRN, said Thursday that the group has already had its “footprint on the ground” and is meeting with each tenant to understand the situation as quickly as possible.
“We’re prepared and ready to help,” Campbell said. “The biggest thing (customers) need to know is that while Revival has had a turnover in tenants, all of the stalls will remain in place and will remain open for business. They’re a small business and a great bunch of people and we want to make sure people have the right information.”
One of the city’s beloved indoor markets has been catering to the Loop’s daytime crowds for eight years, and vendors like Fat Shallot’s Sam Baron are grateful for a smooth, painless transition as more and more downtown office workers return to the office and back for lunch.
“Our pre-COVID bounce back has been incredible in a good way, we were packed Monday through Friday trying to get food out as quickly as possible so sales-wise we’re not where we were before, but we’ve certainly regained our downtown presence and have a thriving business in the Loop again,” Baron said.
Baron and the owners of Danke, Uppercut Sandwich Co. and Aloha Poke are among Revival’s four founding vendors, and he said the transfer of ownership will not affect their business.
“In terms of serving our customers, there has been absolutely no disruption to our day-to-day operations. We are still The Fat Shallot and our other vendors are operating as usual with no changes to their food or procedures,” he said.
Campbell said a rebranding of Revival, which opened in 2016, is planned following the change in supervisors, with a new name expected to be announced soon.
Revival Food Hall said in an Instagram post last week that it would not be able to stay open unless it could get better terms from its landlord, but CBRE, the building’s landlord, said it intended to keep the popular food court running.
Wednesday’s announcement revealed that Chicago-based Revival’s contract with founder 16oC has expired and that STHRN will step in instead.
Danke’s owner, Matthew Sussman, said he’s grateful to have worked with the local group over the past eight years to solidify his business as a cornerstone of the revival.
“As the food hall enters a new phase, we look forward to new partnerships and continue to bake and serve our customers,” he said.
