Food Hall Coming To Columbia's Harlem Campus, Report Says

HARLEM, NY — Columbia University's expansive Harlem campus will feature a new food hall helmed by an acclaimed chef set to open in 2020, according to reports.

Chef Franklin Becker, known as the co-founder of fast-casual restaurant The Little Beet and for appearances on Bravo cooking shows such as "Top Chef Masters," was tapped by Columbia to create a food hall for the Ivy League institution's satellite campus on West 125th Street and Broadway, the Wall Street Journal first reported. The food hall is set to open next summer in the Jerome L. Greene Science Center.

The chef told the Wall Street Journal that food halls have the ability to "raise the bar" for campus dining options and get local vendors involved in a market dominated by large chains. The chef envisions a space that will have an atmosphere similar to a farmer's market because of its emphasis on independent vendors.

"Those independents are thinking a little bit more out of the box than the typical cafeteria or the typical food offerings on a college campus," Becker told the Wall Street Journal.

The food hall will hold a 15-year lease for space on the ground floor of the 450,000-square-foot Jerome L. Greene Science Center building. Columbia's Harlem campus was launched 2003 and is Columbia University's largest capital project since the 19th century construction of its campus in Morningside Heights.

Buildings that are part of the new campus include the Jerome L. Greene Science Center, the Forum and the Lenfest Center for the Arts. The $6.3 billion campus will cover 17 acres of land when complete.

Read the full Wall Street Journal article here.