2018 marked the rise of a new food trend in Miami: food halls. Everywhere you look, there’s a new one popping up. The latest one captures the entrepreneurial spirit that a young city like Miami inspires. 

The experimental St. Roch (pronounced Saint Rock) Market opened its doors on Saturday, February 24th, in Design District’s Palm Court. Unlike the other food halls, however, St. Roch is special because it gives chefs a small scale space to test out future restaurant concepts. 

Coming from the team that opened the sister venture in New Orleans, it aims on being a venue for up-and-coming restaurants. Founder, Will Donaldson, put it simply: “Our whole concept is, ‘This is the guy you should know about.’” 

The market is housed in a 10,000 SF minimalist space that features 12 curated food and beverage vendors offering a variety of cuisines. The space also has a modern art library of 3,000 vintage edition art and design books and will have a rotating art exhibition on display. First to be featured is New Orleans-based poet, Cubsthepoet (@cubsthepoet). 

Concepts include byCHLOE’s hit chef Chloe Coscarelli’s new concept Chef Chloe and the Vegan Cafe, Peruvian sushi restaurant Itamae, handmade pasta spot Dal Plin, Israeli-inspired Jaffa, fried chicken favorite CooP, sustainably-sourced Elysian Seafood, ceviche and taco focused Hot Lime, rose and champagne-centric cocktail bar The Mayhaw, classic Vietnamese shop Tran An, Asian-inspired, but locally sourced Yuzu, acai and smoothie cafe Sweetblendz, and a staple coffee shop, Sabal Coffee. 

St. Roch Market is open daily Sunday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday nights until 11 p.m.

Article by Katya Demina