New Orleans-Based Food Hall St. Roch Market Is Coming to the Design District

A modern food hall from the Big Easy is coming to Miami’s Design District.

The new St. Roch Market food hall will take its inspiration from the New Orleans flagship, which operated for more than 140 years until Hurricane Katrina forced it to shut down. Since reopening in 2015 under the ownership of entrepreneurs Will Donaldson and Barre Tanguis, St. Roch has showcased a variety of up-and-coming local food vendors in a communal space offering a cohesive look. An additional three St. Roch locations are set to open around the country by the end of next year, including a second in New Orleans and one in Miami.

“Miami is a great food town,” Donaldson says.

St. Roch Market Miami, expected to debut in early 2018, will be located in the Design District’s Palm Court (140 NE 39th St.), featuring 12 vendors, including a coffee and pastry shop; a salad vendor; the Mayhaw craft cocktail bar and an oyster bar, both featured at the New Orleans original; and new specialty concepts developed by some of Miami’s top culinary talent.

“It’s a place you can come in for breakfast as much as you can come in late at night and hear a live band,” Donaldson says.

With Italian food hall La Centrale opening in Brickell City Centre, and the 60,000-square-foot Citadel food hall, market, and workspace coming to Little River also in the pipeline for the end of the year, Donaldson says St. Roch Market sets itself apart with its communal element of culinary innovation.

“We’re bringing in the next big thing that you should know about. Getting to dig in deep to the local community and find the diamond in the rough,” he says. “It’s very much a curated market.”
St. Roch is still finalizing its list of Miami vendors, but some of these concepts may come from recognizable names in Miami’s food scene who are simply looking to test out new ideas. In the case of the original New Orleans market, four of the vendors have moved on to open their own brick-and-mortar locations in the past two years.

“It’s very much about bringing to the consumer all of these unsung heroes,” he says.

Miami’s version of the Mayhaw cocktail bar will likely be tiki-themed, and the New Orleans-inspired oyster bar will source East and West Coast oysters. Plus, St. Roch Market will feature an extensive wine selection, with bottles available for purchase close to the retail rate so guests can crack open a bottle and share it with friends as a way to explore new wines.

The curated food and beverage program will be accompanied by a high-quality, hospitality-driven experience, from the food hall’s unified aesthetic of a minimalist interior incorporating Miami design elements — Donaldson is most looking forward to offering a modern art library of books from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s that will welcome guests into the food hall — to meals served on china and glassware rather than the typical disposable dishes and cutlery.

St. Roch Market will also feature live musical entertainment on weekends, like jazz tunes performed out on the patio, with plenty of outdoor seating.