A food hall is planned for The Summit at Fritz Farm shopping center

Food halls, a national dining trend that features eating and shopping, are popping up everywhere, and The Summit at Fritz Farm will have one.

Called Deauville Food Hall, the space will have architectural elements from the original Fritz Farm tobacco barns.

“There is an artisan food hall movement taking place across the country for good reason,” said Jeffrey Bayer, president and CEO of Bayer properties. “A well-done food hall delivers excitement, a feeling of community, and a unique taste of local culture, and we expect the Deauville Food Hall to be a central contributor to The Summit’s overall role as Lexington’s premier gathering place.”

The idea of a food hall is that it celebrates and showcases exceptional purveyors. Think Bourdain Market in Manhattan and Pine Street Market in Portland, Ore. Eater.com describes them this way, “Some are akin to fancy food courts, while others incorporate more of a market feel with plenty of retail — but all rely heavily on local chefs and food artisans to create a communal drinking and dining space.”

The Deauville Food Hall will have eight to nine food and beverage concepts, primarily local and regional, according to Bayer Properties, the builders behind The Summit. So far committed are Tao Green’s Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream (this will be a second location, in addition to the one on the Pepper Distillery campus) and Ilias Pappas’ Athenian Grill.

“When we heard that an artisan food hall was coming to The Summit at Fritz Farm, we knew it was the perfect place to open our next location and to showcase authentic Greek street food in that part of the city,” Pappas said in a statement. “We are excited about the group of local culinary professionals that are coming together around this project and believe that together we will bring something completely new to Lexington’s robust food scene.”

Renderings of the food hall feature a brewery and representatives said that they are still looking for a local craft beer presence.

The food hall will have a stage for live entertainment and will host events. It will function as social and cultural hub for The Summit, which will also include apartments, a boutique hotel and other housing as well as offices. Phase one of the development is scheduled to open at the end of March 2017.

The development on Nicholasville Road and Man o’War, on the former Fritz Farm, will incorporate the wood, saved from the Fritz barns, into several of the buildings on site. The landscaping of the site is being designed by Kentucky celebrity gardener Jon Carloftis, known for his work at the Governor’s Mansion, the former Old Taylor Distillery in Woodford County and the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto.

“We’ve been delighted by the Lexington restaurant community’s outpouring of interest in joining and shaping the project,” said Tristan Simon, who is responsible for food and beverage strategy. “We believe the Deauville Food Hall will find a special place inside Lexington’s food and restaurant culture.”

The Summit also will have a free-standing restaurant to be called Honeywood by revered Central Kentucky chef Ouita Michel, who was recently named a semifinalist for a 2016 James Beard Foundation Award for outstanding restaurateur. Other restaurants that have been announced as coming include steakhouse J. Alexander’s, Steel City Pops, and the first location of the gourmet burger joint Shake Shack.

The development will have space for more than 75 shops and restaurants. Those named so far include a new Whole Foods store, the city’s first Pottery Barn, Brooks Brothers, Arhaus, Orvis, Kendra Scott, Lily Rain and Cos Bar.

Nearby will be a retirement community, Legacy Reserve at Fritz Farm, announced earlier this month.

This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 6:40 PM with the headline "A food hall is planned for The Summit at Fritz Farm shopping center."