New Orleans’ St. Roch Market May Open a Food Hall in Chicago’s West Loop

Last week, McDonald’s debuted a ground-floor restaurant while corporate staff started to move into its new nine-story headquarters in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. But the restaurant news doesn’t stop with the Golden Arches’ international menu. A food hall, St. Roch Market — a New Orleans staple — is reportedly perched to move into a 27,000-square-foot space inside McDonald’s new HQ at 110 N. Carpenter Street. The food hall, which also has a location in Miami, bills itself as a southern food hall with a bar and 12 vendors.

Visitors will find oysters, fancy salads, muffulettas, and poboys at St. Roch’s New Orleans. Critics have heaped praise on the food hall since it opened in 2014. It stands inside a 143-year-old building that’s undergone several renovations on St. Roch Avenue. That being known, the city of New Orleans filed a lawsuit against the market’s owners earlier this month. City officials claim that only the New Orleans location should use the “St. Roch” name as the city paid for building renovations. Thus, the market’s owners shouldn’t have the rights to use the name in Miami and future locations. It remains to be seen how that could affect Chicago plans.

A spokesperson for St. Roch’s told Crain’s, which broke the story, that they’re still negotiating as no deal’s been finalized. The West Loop’s first food hall, which many forget about, is Chicago’s French Market. There’s another planned on Fulton Market from the owners of Time Out. Over in the Loop, Revival Food Hall has helped reignite the trend with a mix of local restaurants under one roof. If Chicagoans didn’t know, food halls are a thing.