Final preparations underway for Flagship City Food Hall grand opening

After years of preparation, the Flagship City Food Hall is set to open next week.

For most of its new restaurant owners, this was a golden opportunity to finally achieve their dreams. For many of them, this opportunity was one they could not pass up and one they would not be able to accomplish without some help.

Perfect timing, perfect location, and perfect fit. That’s what drew Taste & See Fruit and Veggie Bar owner Krystal Robinson to open up her first restaurant. She said she knew it was important to be in downtown Erie.

“It means the accessibility. Not only do we have the accessibility to the customers that we may succeed, but the customers have the accessibility to a diverse range of foods,” sand Krystal Robinson, Owner of Taste & See Fruit and Veggie Bar.

A Taste of Love owner Natasha Cooks was busy Friday evening getting ready to open up her first restaurant. She chose to open at the food hall because it was time for a change.

“Change is everything and when you have different vendors at every spot and you get to taste something different every day, you don’t have the same thing. It’s amazing. We don’t have too much downtown. This is something big and this is something great,” said Natasha Cooks, Owner of A Taste of Love.

Brian Stark is a chef and baker at Blue Willow Bakery & Café. The uniqueness drew him to he food hall as opposed to a standalone restaurant.

“This was that opportunity here in Erie for me that do, Dominican, and having other neighbors that do Mediterranean food, it’s really cool,” said Brian Stark, Blue Willow Bakery & Cafe.

Corey Cook, Director of Operations and Logistics with the EDDC, says this is a great opportunity for some of the vendors as a starting point and an opportunity they might not have anywhere else.

“Some of them come from different backgrounds, maybe they were not able to secure loans or things to start up. Some are established, so it’s a wide range of groups that are coming down,” said Corey Cook, Director of Operations & Logistics at EDDC.

The Flagship City Food Hall opens on Monday. There are a total of nine restaurants under one roof and seating for 160.