F-hubs revealed: Poland/Warsaw
As foodhalls develop at pace into the community-driven spaces we call F-hubs P-THREE is on a mission to uncover the most interesting of these around the globe. We’ve previously visited Reykjavik, Iceland, and in this blog we’re focussing on the Polish capital of Warsaw, a popular travel destination for Brits. Pre-pandemic around 2 million people from the UK headed for the city each year, along with 1 million Germans, swelling total annual tourist visitor numbers to over 10 million. Not bad for a city with a population of just short of 1.8 million.
What struck me, moving between Warsaw’s F-hubs, is how advanced the market has become in a relatively short space of time. Geographically, most venues are concentrated within a fairly small area, although they cater to differing local catchments and the physical fabric of each one is quite different, with revitalised heritage properties predominating.
While Warsaw’s population growth for the next decade is forecast by the UN to be relatively static, tourism is ramping back up towards pre-Covid levels and the growing number of F-hubs in the capital is proving attractive to domestic and international tourists alike, alongside locals and a super-on trend office consumer in the rapidly emerging and very impressive CBD.
Our favourite venues include:
Hala Kozcyki. Warsaw’s first foodhall (opened 2016) has an excellent location in the city, making it particularly busy in the evening and at weekends. Most of the venue is on the ground floor, with additional space for non-food uses available at first floor level, but this appears underutilised, even when the main venue downstairs is packed.
Hala Gwardii. The city’s former food and flower market has been transformed into an outlet for artisanal street food and fresh produce, and is located next to Warsaw’s main small wholesaler food market in the CBD. The venue currently operates at weekends (Friday-Sunday) and has a rustic feel that is reflected in very reasonable prices. The freehold is owned by the city municipality, which is aiming to lease the fresh produce section to an operator who is willing to fully renovate the building and then create an artisan food destination similar to London’s Borough Market.
Browary Warzawskie. The former brewery on the edge of the CBD has a strong design ethos that is fully in keeping with its target market of young professionals, which it woos with excellent full service restaurant operations. A nightclub, due to open in spring 2023, will undoubtedly add to the appeal for trendy, young partygoers and should help maintain footfall.
Norblin. Warsaw’s largest F-hub so far (with around 850 covers in total) is also sited on the edge of the CBD and includes 23 kiosks and five bars. Prices are generally higher than the city’s other F-hubs, so it will be interesting to see how much loyalty this venue, which only opened last year, generates going forward.
What struck me, moving between Warsaw’s F-hubs, is how advanced the market has become in a relatively short space of time. Geographically, most venues are concentrated within a fairly small area, although they cater to differing local catchments and the physical fabric of each one is quite different, with revitalised heritage properties predominating.
As with most eastern European (and Scandinavian) countries, the long winter season means that the majority of dining space is indoors and so for developers/landlords of large mixed use (re)development schemes F-hubs are a potentially advantageous part of the tenant mix. However, as I noted in Rejkjavik (and the same applies to many other European cities), the reality is that only if fundamentals, such as location and F&B offer, are correct will individual venues stay the course. The close proximity of those in Warsaw with their neighbours suggest some will not.
Nevertheless, more F-hubs are likely to appear in the city. While the OECD calculates that Poland’s average net disposable income per person is more than one-fifth below the OECD average, employment is higher than average. My own observations are that existing venues are well patronised and priced at a level that is acceptable for consumers. I wouldn’t be surprised if new venues in Warsaw target young professionals and/or affluent tourists in particular, though without a strong local community anchor customer base I’d question their long term sustainability.
P-THREE have unrivalled experience in the foodhall sector, do get in touch if you want to know more.
Article by Thomas Rose, Co-founder P-THREE
