by Paul Heney
Last updated: 4:00 AM ET, Wed November 14, 2018

Across the country, suburban malls are being abandoned, and with them, their once bustling food courts. But sprouting up to replace them (at least in spirit) in hip urban centers are higher-end so-called "food halls." These facilities, often set in refurbished buildings with expansive spaces, can contain full-service restaurants, bars, and fast casual offerings.

Many cities have vast city markets, with vendors that sell meats, vegetables, spices, flours, and even prepared foods, such as Cleveland's venerable West Side Market or Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market. Some of these include food courts or a smattering of restaurants, but that's a different beast than what we're talking about here.

Eataly, which opened its first location in Italy in 2007, was a turn in a slightly different direction, sort of a high-end Italian grocery store with multiple separate food ordering areas for patrons who wanted to dine in. It spread to other cities, such as Rome, Munich, New York, Chicago, Boston and Munich.

New York also has the popular Le District, located in the World Financial Center, next to the World Trade Center. This concept brings a French flair to the Eataly idea, and I've had great meals there (as well as at Eataly).

These new food halls, however, are often developed by a commercial entity that renovates an old industrial building and fills it with independent restaurants. Some of these serve almost as incubators, providing entrepreneurs with something more permanent than a food truck, yet cheaper than opening a full-blown restaurant on their own. Here are some of the nicest and newest food halls.

Armature Works, in Tampa, is one of my favorite food halls. Set in a former streetcar storage and maintenance facility, this new hall hosts the Heights Public Market, with an open floor plan and communal seating. More than a dozen vendors are located here, including cuisines as varied as barbeque, all-day breakfast, pizza, acai bowls, sandwiches, sushi, empanadas, Cuban, Filipino, ice cream and wine.

Steelbach, a Southern-inspired kitchen and chophouse, is the full-service restaurant attached to Armature Works, and it's one of the best restaurants in the city.

Open just last month, Ohio City Galley, in Cleveland, was crafted from the ashes of one of the city's most well-known Italian restaurants, Massimo da Milano. Developers who recently completed an enormous apartment complex across the street converted the old restaurant space on the ground floor of this stately building into an open floor concept. It now houses four restaurants and a lovely bar, with its own separate seating area.

The restaurants here are given free rent for a year, as a way to incubate them into full-fledged businesses-and will allow for OCG to stay new and different, as cuisines move in and out over time.

Current occupants specialize in Asian food, burgers, and Oaxacan/Mexican as well as a spicy chicken and sandwich shop. The owners also have two locations in Pittsburgh and will be opening spots in Detroit and Chicago in the coming months.

In February of this year, Miami debuted an all-Italian food hall, La Centrale, which takes up three levels and features 14 different dining options at Brickell City Centre.

Visitors can enjoy eateries, cafes, and restaurants, depending on how formal or informal their dining preferences are. There are six full-service concepts and eight counter concepts. On the top level, La Cucina is a dedicated kitchen event area, where the hall's chefs conduct cooking classes.

The food and drink available run the gamut from espresso to bakery, pizza, seafood, steak, gelato, and cocktails-all, of course, with an Italian flair. Diners can enjoy the flavors of Tuscany, Liguria, Sardinia, Sicily, Lombardy and Apulia under a single roof. There are also event spaces available that have capacities ranging from 12-1,200 people.

The Ponce City Market in Atlanta is housed in a former Sears, Roebuck & Co. building that was extensively redeveloped into housing, entertainment options (including a rooftop mini golf course!) and, of course, a food hall.

Here, the food options are practically endless: Indian street food, pizza, a cookie dough shop, bars, a wine store, coffee bar, candy shop, Latin fare, burgers, donuts, deep fried chicken, Asian, Mexican, sushi, a juice bar, and well, you get the picture. They have everything here. And, get ready for it: yes, it's all under one roof, giving you reason to come back time and time again.

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