Another food hall is coming to Atlanta, this time in Peoplestown.
The 12-stall Switchman Hall will open in summer 2024 as part of the Terminal South development at the corner of Ridge Avenue and Hank Aaron Drive, just steps from the Southside Beltline trail and the final stop of MARTA’s future bus rapid transit line in Peoplestown.
Melissa Ahrendt, who is leading the project as the executive director of real estate for Terminal South landlord Stafford, is currently negotiating with eight prospective tenants for the food hall. There are also plans for at least one full-service restaurant that will have a patio facing Hank Aaron Drive.
While scoping out prospective tenants, Ahrendt’s focus “has been on finding local chefs and restaurant owners that share our vision in becoming an integral part of the Peoplestown neighborhood,” a representative for Terminal South told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an email. “And while we aren’t looking for national brands, we are open to bringing in new concepts from around the Southeast.”
The hall will include a bar concept, though tenants will still be able to choose to serve beer and wine from their individual spaces.
The representative said Ahrendt, who lives in the neighborhood, will also prioritize hiring Peoplestown residents and paying them a living wage; creating a Terminal South scholarship fund to benefit local students that all tenants will be required to contribute to as part of their lease; a tenant mix that will " reflect a mixed-income neighborhood with different price points; business owners who reflect the diversity of the neighborhood, with the goal to have a minimum of 30% of Terminal South businesses be Black-owned and a minimum of 50% to be minority-owned; and artwork focused on honoring the history and community activists of Peoplestown.
Switchman Hall will offer indoor seating for about 125 people, while there will be seating for several hundred people on an expansive outdoor terrace.
The 45,625-square-foot mixed-use Terminal South development features the adaptive reuse of two former warehouse structures. In addition to Switchman Hall and full-service restaurant concepts, the development will also be home to retail and office space.
Once it opens, Switchman Hall will join more than 10 food halls across metro Atlanta. There are also several food halls slated to open in the coming months, including Lee + White food hall in West End, Citizens Market at Phipps Plaza and Halidom in East Atlanta.
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