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http://www.ocregister.com/2017/04/1...trade-mcfadden-public-market-and-square-mixx/
The first wave of Orange County food halls gave us poke with an ocean view in Huntington Beach, gourmet New York-style pizza in downtown Santa Ana and Indian street food in a century-old packing house in Anaheim.
Now the second swell of culinary walkabouts is emerging. And, let me tell you: Get ready for a tsunami.
?This is going to be a dining mecca of international concepts,? said Kenny Liu, leasing manager for The Source, a mega-entertainment and food complex in Buena Park.
Within The Source, a food hall dubbed Square Mixx is coming next year. It?s one of two international marketplaces in the works in Orange County. The other is a Vietnamese-themed food hall in Little Saigon.Two other Orange County food halls open this month: McFadden Public Market in Santa Ana and TRADE in Irvine.
Here?s the lowdown.
Santa Ana: McFadden Public Market
This new downtown Santa Ana food hall, which opened April 13, is the brainchild of multi-unit restaurant owner Leonard Chan and his business partner, Phillip Kwan.
Chan is a serial restaurateur in Orange County known for a host of trendy concepts including Shuck Oyster Bar, Iron Press, The Blind Rabbit, Rolling Boil, Kiyomisu and The Hatch. He and Kwan, the founder of rice bowl pop-up Mama Musubi, are also developing concepts in Los Angeles.
At McFadden, the dynamic hospitality duo has converted an aging 10,000-square-foot Mexican restaurant and banquet hall into a two-story dining and entertainment center.
The second floor of the historic brick-walled building, with a balcony facing Main Street, is packed with vintage arcade games and pinball machines. The first floor is home to a handful of food stands.
?We wanted to have a destination with food,? Chan said.
Dubbed Mission Control, the upstairs bar and lounge is a throwback to the 1970s and 1980s ? showcasing popular and addictive games such as Centipede, Space Invaders, Asteroids and Ms. Pac-Man. Chan and Kwan have decorated it with school house desks, eclectic seating and board games.
Most of the oak plank flooring was salvaged from a building down the street.
Chan, a self-confessed pinball wizard, said McFadden is a passion project he?s been pursuing for years. ?This is my childhood.?
But Chan knows shoving a few quarters in an arcade game doesn?t pay the bills.
Booze does.
McFadden, named after an old market that operated in the decades-old building, houses a 20-tap bar on each floor. Chan?s Iron Press restaurant is known for its carefully curated craft beers.The lower-level Under Control bar will specialize in craft cocktails.
Unlike most other food halls, the number of options is relatively small at McFadden, which is a block away from 4th Street Market. The four eateries are new concepts by experienced restaurant owners and chefs such Nathaniel Nguyen of The Prince & Pantry and Jinny?s Pizzeria at 4th Street Market.
Nguyen is the consulting chef at Rooster Republic and Milk Man, two concepts owned by Matthew Baumgartner. Each focuses on American classics: Rooster is selling Southern fried chicken and sides such as macaroni and cheese; Milk Man will serve ice cream, shakes, sundaes and floats.
Is Nguyen worried about competing with 4th Street Market?
He shakes his head. ?If anything, it helps people to get to Santa Ana more often.?
Tacos En Tu Boca, a Chan concept, is serving Filipino-inspired nachos, tacos, burritos and bowls. On the nachos, think cheesy tortilla chips topped with chewy pig ears instead of carnitas.
At Bone Stock, Tommy Vu branches out from his family?s Vietnamese restaurant Pho Bo Bang in Lake Forest. The neighborhooder has served as a learning platform for Vu, whose Bone Stock is focusing on a limited menu of pho, vermicelli and spring and egg roll dishes. Pho varieties include rare top sirloin or well-done brisket.
And there?s a mashup creation Springception: an egg roll inside a spring roll. Bone Stock is also serving Vietnamese coffee.
Not into strong java? No worries.
At the 11th hour, McFadden carved out a tiny space for Solid Coffee Roasters.
The operators realized you can?t be a true food hall without some serious caffeine options. Portola Coffee Roasters, the King of Food Hall Cafes, taught us that.
Solid fits McFadden?s criteria of offering an artisanal concept not found elsewhere in Orange County. The company works directly with farmers and has been roasting in Whittier for four years. It sells its single-origin coffee beans to various cafes, many of whom brew it as a private label. The company opened its first retail cafe in Artesia late last year. Coffee and espresso drink prices range from $2.50 to $5.
McFadden Public Market: 515 N. Main St.
Irvine: TRADE
Surprisingly, Irvine?s first food hall is being developed on a parcel of land not owned by the Irvine Co. Though we suspect the city?s largest landowner has culinary aspirations for the ex-Macy?s space at Irvine Spectrum Center.
TRADE, formerly Michelson Marketplace, is a joint effort between Lincoln Property Co. and Alcion Ventures. The two companies have spent roughly $5 million converting the aging food court within the 32,000-square-foot strip center into an open-air hall.
Like McFadden, TRADE has tapped experienced operators from buzzy concepts such as Dos Chinos, Slapfish, Afters Ice Cream and GD Bro Burger to bring fresh food stands to the center near John Wayne Airport.
?We had to get these guys who had the following to bring people here,? said Parke Miller, executive vice president of Irvine-based Lincoln Property Company.
Restaurants by Andrew Gruel were scheduled to open today, April 20. The creator of fast-casual seafood sensation Slapfish has developed yin-and-yang concepts Two Birds and Butterleaf.
At Butterleaf, Gruel is following the veggie trend with produce as ?drool-worthy? center-of-the-plate creations. The menu features roasted or sauteed vegetables bathed in various housemade sauces including Green Goddess and a spicy tiger sauce.
Meals come as wraps or bowls and with sides. One standout appetizer: Avocado Bombs, diced avocados rolled in crushed corn chips, deep fried and topped with kimchi tiger sauce.
Though veggies are king here, Gruel says don?t call Butterleaf a ?plant-based restaurant? because his intention isn?t to cater strictly to vegetarians; he predicts carnivores will love it too.
?It?s vegetables for meat eaters,? he said.
At Two Birds, Gruel is following an indulgent trend: fried chicken. The limited menu features grilled or fried Jidori chicken served as a sandwich or salad for $9.
?I don?t think we?re reinventing the wheel. We are definitely trying to take advantage of chicken being hot,? Gruel said.
The rest of the TRADE restaurants are expected to open next week or by the end of the month, including a second brick-and-mortar outlet for Hop Phan?s Dos Chinos.
Like Slapfish, the Vietnamese and Mexican fusion eatery started out as a food truck. Phan parked the concept at 4th Street Market two years ago. Now, he?s taking it to Irvine, along with new concept Megadon, a Latin, Asian, Mexican and Hawaiian fusion eatery.
Pig Pen Delicacy, which debuted last year at 4th Street Market, is a pork-centric eatery from the creators of Afters Ice Cream and GD Bro Burger. It recently opened at SteelCraft, a Long Beach food marketplace built from shipping containers. Popular offerings include Pork Belly Fries, Maple Bacon Jam Burger and the MacAttack Burger. The latter is served on fried mac ?n cheese buns.
Other TRADE food stalls: Portside, a seafood shack serving fish and chips, calamari and fish tacos; Gyro King, Greek sandwiches, gyros and plates; Sweet Combforts, a whimsical twist on a classic Belgian-style liege waffle. And, yes, that?s how you spell it because the dimples on the waffle form a honeycomb pattern. The waffles, infused with pearl sugars, are served on a stick and dipped in a variety of cookie butter flavors.
Following the one-bar-serves-all philosophy of Recess at 4th Street Market, Center Hub will provide all the libations for TRADE?s eight restaurants. Expect simple, classic cocktails, boutique wines and 10 taps of craft beer.
TRADE: 2222 Michelson Drive
Coming in 2018: Asian-themed food halls
Square Mixx is an Asian marketplace within The Source in Buena Park, a $400 million multi-use project by Korean-American developer MD Properties. The 600,000-square-foot project includes a seven-story office/retail tower, a three-story lifestyle center and a 175-room Hilton hotel looming high above Beach Boulevard and Orangethorpe Avenue.
An ?immersive? 4DX movie theater, CGV Cultureplex, and fine dining restaurants have opened in recent months at the retail center. Square Mixx, on the second level, will be a collection of Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Thai restaurants. Some brands already named: Sogondong, Robot Kimbap, Curious Goldie, Grill Thai, Nipong Naepong (?? ??) Fusion Jjampong & Pizza and Cory Way (Korean Street Food).
Tenants are still being signed. Square Mixx is not expected to open until early next year. Also, possibly coming in 2018
Also, possibly coming in 2018: A food hall in Little Saigon.
Frank Jao, one of the most successful businessmen in the Vietnamese enclave and the man behind the Asian Garden Mall, is reportedly developing a 20,000-square-foot culinary marketplace. Like the Anaheim Packing House, the yet-to-be-named Little Saigon food hall is expected to attract a younger generation.
Plans are still in the works, so stay tuned.
Tell us: Do you love the food hall life? Write in and let us know. Email Nancy Luna: nluna@scng.com
The first wave of Orange County food halls gave us poke with an ocean view in Huntington Beach, gourmet New York-style pizza in downtown Santa Ana and Indian street food in a century-old packing house in Anaheim.
Now the second swell of culinary walkabouts is emerging. And, let me tell you: Get ready for a tsunami.
?This is going to be a dining mecca of international concepts,? said Kenny Liu, leasing manager for The Source, a mega-entertainment and food complex in Buena Park.
Within The Source, a food hall dubbed Square Mixx is coming next year. It?s one of two international marketplaces in the works in Orange County. The other is a Vietnamese-themed food hall in Little Saigon.Two other Orange County food halls open this month: McFadden Public Market in Santa Ana and TRADE in Irvine.
Here?s the lowdown.
Santa Ana: McFadden Public Market
This new downtown Santa Ana food hall, which opened April 13, is the brainchild of multi-unit restaurant owner Leonard Chan and his business partner, Phillip Kwan.
Chan is a serial restaurateur in Orange County known for a host of trendy concepts including Shuck Oyster Bar, Iron Press, The Blind Rabbit, Rolling Boil, Kiyomisu and The Hatch. He and Kwan, the founder of rice bowl pop-up Mama Musubi, are also developing concepts in Los Angeles.
At McFadden, the dynamic hospitality duo has converted an aging 10,000-square-foot Mexican restaurant and banquet hall into a two-story dining and entertainment center.
The second floor of the historic brick-walled building, with a balcony facing Main Street, is packed with vintage arcade games and pinball machines. The first floor is home to a handful of food stands.
?We wanted to have a destination with food,? Chan said.
Dubbed Mission Control, the upstairs bar and lounge is a throwback to the 1970s and 1980s ? showcasing popular and addictive games such as Centipede, Space Invaders, Asteroids and Ms. Pac-Man. Chan and Kwan have decorated it with school house desks, eclectic seating and board games.
Most of the oak plank flooring was salvaged from a building down the street.
Chan, a self-confessed pinball wizard, said McFadden is a passion project he?s been pursuing for years. ?This is my childhood.?
But Chan knows shoving a few quarters in an arcade game doesn?t pay the bills.
Booze does.
McFadden, named after an old market that operated in the decades-old building, houses a 20-tap bar on each floor. Chan?s Iron Press restaurant is known for its carefully curated craft beers.The lower-level Under Control bar will specialize in craft cocktails.
Unlike most other food halls, the number of options is relatively small at McFadden, which is a block away from 4th Street Market. The four eateries are new concepts by experienced restaurant owners and chefs such Nathaniel Nguyen of The Prince & Pantry and Jinny?s Pizzeria at 4th Street Market.
Nguyen is the consulting chef at Rooster Republic and Milk Man, two concepts owned by Matthew Baumgartner. Each focuses on American classics: Rooster is selling Southern fried chicken and sides such as macaroni and cheese; Milk Man will serve ice cream, shakes, sundaes and floats.
Is Nguyen worried about competing with 4th Street Market?
He shakes his head. ?If anything, it helps people to get to Santa Ana more often.?
Tacos En Tu Boca, a Chan concept, is serving Filipino-inspired nachos, tacos, burritos and bowls. On the nachos, think cheesy tortilla chips topped with chewy pig ears instead of carnitas.
At Bone Stock, Tommy Vu branches out from his family?s Vietnamese restaurant Pho Bo Bang in Lake Forest. The neighborhooder has served as a learning platform for Vu, whose Bone Stock is focusing on a limited menu of pho, vermicelli and spring and egg roll dishes. Pho varieties include rare top sirloin or well-done brisket.
And there?s a mashup creation Springception: an egg roll inside a spring roll. Bone Stock is also serving Vietnamese coffee.
Not into strong java? No worries.
At the 11th hour, McFadden carved out a tiny space for Solid Coffee Roasters.
The operators realized you can?t be a true food hall without some serious caffeine options. Portola Coffee Roasters, the King of Food Hall Cafes, taught us that.
Solid fits McFadden?s criteria of offering an artisanal concept not found elsewhere in Orange County. The company works directly with farmers and has been roasting in Whittier for four years. It sells its single-origin coffee beans to various cafes, many of whom brew it as a private label. The company opened its first retail cafe in Artesia late last year. Coffee and espresso drink prices range from $2.50 to $5.
McFadden Public Market: 515 N. Main St.
Irvine: TRADE
Surprisingly, Irvine?s first food hall is being developed on a parcel of land not owned by the Irvine Co. Though we suspect the city?s largest landowner has culinary aspirations for the ex-Macy?s space at Irvine Spectrum Center.
TRADE, formerly Michelson Marketplace, is a joint effort between Lincoln Property Co. and Alcion Ventures. The two companies have spent roughly $5 million converting the aging food court within the 32,000-square-foot strip center into an open-air hall.
Like McFadden, TRADE has tapped experienced operators from buzzy concepts such as Dos Chinos, Slapfish, Afters Ice Cream and GD Bro Burger to bring fresh food stands to the center near John Wayne Airport.
?We had to get these guys who had the following to bring people here,? said Parke Miller, executive vice president of Irvine-based Lincoln Property Company.
Restaurants by Andrew Gruel were scheduled to open today, April 20. The creator of fast-casual seafood sensation Slapfish has developed yin-and-yang concepts Two Birds and Butterleaf.
At Butterleaf, Gruel is following the veggie trend with produce as ?drool-worthy? center-of-the-plate creations. The menu features roasted or sauteed vegetables bathed in various housemade sauces including Green Goddess and a spicy tiger sauce.
Meals come as wraps or bowls and with sides. One standout appetizer: Avocado Bombs, diced avocados rolled in crushed corn chips, deep fried and topped with kimchi tiger sauce.
Though veggies are king here, Gruel says don?t call Butterleaf a ?plant-based restaurant? because his intention isn?t to cater strictly to vegetarians; he predicts carnivores will love it too.
?It?s vegetables for meat eaters,? he said.
At Two Birds, Gruel is following an indulgent trend: fried chicken. The limited menu features grilled or fried Jidori chicken served as a sandwich or salad for $9.
?I don?t think we?re reinventing the wheel. We are definitely trying to take advantage of chicken being hot,? Gruel said.
The rest of the TRADE restaurants are expected to open next week or by the end of the month, including a second brick-and-mortar outlet for Hop Phan?s Dos Chinos.
Like Slapfish, the Vietnamese and Mexican fusion eatery started out as a food truck. Phan parked the concept at 4th Street Market two years ago. Now, he?s taking it to Irvine, along with new concept Megadon, a Latin, Asian, Mexican and Hawaiian fusion eatery.
Pig Pen Delicacy, which debuted last year at 4th Street Market, is a pork-centric eatery from the creators of Afters Ice Cream and GD Bro Burger. It recently opened at SteelCraft, a Long Beach food marketplace built from shipping containers. Popular offerings include Pork Belly Fries, Maple Bacon Jam Burger and the MacAttack Burger. The latter is served on fried mac ?n cheese buns.
Other TRADE food stalls: Portside, a seafood shack serving fish and chips, calamari and fish tacos; Gyro King, Greek sandwiches, gyros and plates; Sweet Combforts, a whimsical twist on a classic Belgian-style liege waffle. And, yes, that?s how you spell it because the dimples on the waffle form a honeycomb pattern. The waffles, infused with pearl sugars, are served on a stick and dipped in a variety of cookie butter flavors.
Following the one-bar-serves-all philosophy of Recess at 4th Street Market, Center Hub will provide all the libations for TRADE?s eight restaurants. Expect simple, classic cocktails, boutique wines and 10 taps of craft beer.
TRADE: 2222 Michelson Drive
Coming in 2018: Asian-themed food halls
Square Mixx is an Asian marketplace within The Source in Buena Park, a $400 million multi-use project by Korean-American developer MD Properties. The 600,000-square-foot project includes a seven-story office/retail tower, a three-story lifestyle center and a 175-room Hilton hotel looming high above Beach Boulevard and Orangethorpe Avenue.
An ?immersive? 4DX movie theater, CGV Cultureplex, and fine dining restaurants have opened in recent months at the retail center. Square Mixx, on the second level, will be a collection of Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Thai restaurants. Some brands already named: Sogondong, Robot Kimbap, Curious Goldie, Grill Thai, Nipong Naepong (?? ??) Fusion Jjampong & Pizza and Cory Way (Korean Street Food).
Tenants are still being signed. Square Mixx is not expected to open until early next year. Also, possibly coming in 2018
Also, possibly coming in 2018: A food hall in Little Saigon.
Frank Jao, one of the most successful businessmen in the Vietnamese enclave and the man behind the Asian Garden Mall, is reportedly developing a 20,000-square-foot culinary marketplace. Like the Anaheim Packing House, the yet-to-be-named Little Saigon food hall is expected to attract a younger generation.
Plans are still in the works, so stay tuned.
Tell us: Do you love the food hall life? Write in and let us know. Email Nancy Luna: nluna@scng.com
