Forthcoming Midtown Food Hall at Colony Square Changes Hands Again and Its Name

Opening next spring, the upcoming food hall at Colony Square in Midtown has changed hands again, and it has a new name.

Formerly Main and Main, the food hall has been renamed to Politan Row and is now run by New Orleans-based food hall operator Politan Group in partnership with Atlanta developer North American Properties. The group also operates luxe food hall St. Roch Market in New Orleans, along with Politan Row food halls in Miami, Houston, and Chicago.

The food hall at Colony Square, set along 14th and Peachtree streets in Midtown, was first announced in 2017 as part of a multi-million dollar overhaul of the 50-year-old complex. Steve Palmer of Indigo Road Hospitality Group (O-Ku, Tiny Lou’s) was tapped first to help develop the food stalls for the market. He pulled out of the project, but moved forward with opening an outpost of sushi and poke restaurant Sukoshi at Colony Square last year. Texas-based Oz Rey briefly took over the food hall before that group also departed the project.

North American Properties chairman Mark Toro calls Politan Group “the right partner for Colony Square’s food hall” and expects stalls to begin opening there next spring.

When asked to provide more details on the chefs and food businesses Politan Group plans to seek out to fill the stalls at the Midtown food hall, a representative told Eater, “This operator has a track record of working with younger stage entrepreneurs as opposed to established [restaurant] groups.” The restaurant stall lineup at Atlanta’s food hall could be similar to the group’s Houston, Chicago, and Miami Politan Row locations, which feature stalls run by independent pop-up and food truck chefs serving a mix of fare ranging from Trinidadian and Jewish-Mexican dishes, to Thai, Italian, and Nikkei dishes.

In addition to the 11 restaurant stalls, a central bar likely called Bar Politan, and a “secret bar” planned for the 20,000-square-foot food hall, a press release indicates Politan Group is putting greater emphasis on creating 22,000 square feet of open-air spaces and outdoor seating. That includes installing a sliding glass wall opening to the outside, a patio with covered seating and shuffleboard games, the Grove with shade trees and more outdoor seating, a plaza with a stage, and an outdoor bar. Each stall at Politan Row will offer online ordering and contact-free pick-up options, too.

The Wilbert Group

The Wilbert Group

The Wilbert Group

“The food hall model already complements the way people want to dine post-pandemic, with quick, counter-service, quality, cost-conscious food and flexible seating,” Toro said in the press release. “Our food hall will take these benefits even further by providing ample outdoor space and enhanced technology that creates a seamless dining experience for people who are coming out of social isolation and desperately craving community togetherness.”

Politan Row will join several previously opened and announced full-service restaurants at Colony Square. Establishment overlooks the Grove at the complex and will eventually offer access to the food hall. Chicago restaurateur Donna Lee opens an Atlanta outpost of Brown Bag Seafood Company next to Sukoshi later this month. The relocated Holeman and Finch Public House should open by the end of the year, and a third location of Persian restaurant Rumi’s Kitchen opens next spring.

• Atlanta’s Next Big Food Hall Is Destined for Midtown [EATL]
• Persian Restaurant Rumi’s Kitchen Moves Into Midtown’s Colony Square Next Spring [EATL]
• All Colony Square dining coverage [EATL]
• Food Stalls Begin Opening Soon at the Northwest Atlanta Andrew Zimmern-Backed Food Hall [EATL]