The secret of who is behind the much touted food hall concept on the Mission Gateway site is secret no more.
Cameron Group LLC lead Tom Valenti confirmed this afternoon that chef Tom Colicchio will be the curator of the 40,000 square foot operation at the intersection of Johnson Drive and Roe Avenue.
“With everything we’ve been through in the lead up to this, hopefully the wait will be worth it,” Valenti said.
Colicchio is perhaps best known for his role as a judge on the Bravo! series Top Chef. But prior to his television fame, he built a wildly successful restaurant empire starting with the renowned Grammercy Tavern in Manhattan, which opened in 1994.
Cameron’s announcement of the food hall said Colicchio and his team will bring “nationally acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs, coupled with local artisanal purveyors to offer the finest in freshly prepared foods, experiential dining, shopping and entertainment. The development will expand upon the traditional food hall concept and be Kansas City’s first modern social venue that incorporates food and drink with social recreation gaming and events.”
The secrecy surrounding the team behind the food hall concept was a sticking point in Cameron’s latest request for public financing incentives from the city of Mission.
Valenti is required to break ground on the long-stalled project by October of this year to keep the more than $35 million in public finance incentives approved by the Mission city council last year. A hint that work may be set to begin in the coming months came two weeks ago when Colliers put up new signage along the property and began actively working to lease retail space in the development.
The food hall and adjacent — and still unrevealed — entertainment concept buildings would be constructed as part of a later phase of the project. The first phase will include apartments over retail fronting Roeland Drive.
The full release from the Cameron Group is below:
James Beard Award Winning chef Tom Colicchio, Crafted Hospitality, GFI Development Company, LLC and Cameron Group, LLC are pleased to announce their collaboration to develop an approximately 40,000 square foot Food Hall and Social Recreation Venue at their Gateway development in Kansas City.
Inspired and curated by eight-time James Beard Award winner, chef Tom Colicchio, head judge and Emmy Award winning Executive Producer on Top Chef, the project at Gateway will bring together nationally acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs, coupled with local artisanal purveyors to offer the finest in freshly prepared foods, experiential dining, shopping and entertainment. The development will expand upon the traditional food hall concept and be Kansas City’s first modern social venue that incorporates food and drink with social recreation gaming and events.
Colicchio describes the venture as, “a lifestyle entertainment destination anchored in chef-driven, culinary experiences with a focus on exceptional but accessible food. We will engage the local community by combining stand-alone restaurants and smaller counters curated by national and local chefs, to encourage social interaction.”
The development will also feature a live concert venue and rotating art installation, with the larger project masterplan providing additional indoor/outdoor spaces that will further integrate the food, drink and entertainment offerings. The vision for the venue will incorporate a variety of recreation and gaming concepts including table tennis, billiards, shuffleboard and bocce with plans for extensive programming, including opportunities for larger scale corporate events, leagues and tournaments.
Joel Rosen, Managing Director at GFI stated “We are thrilled to work with Tom on another project to redefine how we socialize, eat and interact. The Gateway is the perfect destination to bring multiple communities together to live, work, eat, entertain, shop and overnight at our hotel.”
Tom Valenti, Principal at Cameron Group says, “Having Tom Colicchio operating our Food Hall at The Gateway is a great endorsement of our project. Tom’s involvement confirms that The Gateway will be a Mid-West regional destination and be the jewel of the City of Mission that everyone hoped it would be.”