If you live near College Park or have been keeping tabs on the “Packing District” (for better or for worse), you’ve been waiting to see what would come of the new food hall - The Great Southern Box Company Food Hall. The space is in soft opening this weekend, although it’s not at 100% capacity yet.

Right now, you can buzz around the open space and do a few loops before deciding what vendors you will try or how many. To its credit, there is a decent variety of cuisines to be found.

the space:

The 13,140-sf food hall consists of:

• Eleven vendor stalls

• An elevated outdoor patio, some with shaded covering

• A micro-brewery (Orange County Brewers not open yet)

Most will find the space aesthetically pleasing, but my preference when it comes to a food hall is to feel the life and vibrancy of each stall. Optimist Hall in Charlotte does a fantastic job with this. Each vendor's stall is fully branded and stands out, whereas here, everything is identical, with only a logo to differentiate them from each other. This seems like a missed opportunity especially when so many different countries and cuisines are on display here and could proudly showcase a unique piece of their brand and vision to pull us in. Instead small menu screens are all you have to get a feeling for the type of fare that awaits.

There is plenty of seating both inside and outside, and during cooler months, some of the large windows fully open for fresh air to flow through the space.

However, there are seating booths and tables right in front of the counters where you order. It wasn’t very busy when I went and there was already a jam of people not knowing where to stand without being too close to the tables or too close to the counter or other patrons. It’s cramped for the sake of a huge center bar no one was sitting at.

FOOD OPTIONS:

I can fully appreciate that The Great Southern Box Food Hall doesn’t match the standard food hall tenant mix formula that some adhere to. It wouldn’t appear to follow the same standard types of cuisines and retail options (actually there are no retail options). The goal was clearly to be as diverse as possible. It will remain to be seen if that pays off in a market like Orlando, where we have diverse food offerings throughout the city (some at cheaper price points). Will what is offered be enough to extend visitation time and produce more than one transaction per visit?

A Lo Cubano Kitchen – Cuban

Antica Pizzeria – Pizza

Braza – Fast casual Brazilian steakhouse

Dancing Yeti – Serving Nepalese and Indian cuisine.

Eighty Twenty - Burgers

Kabob 2 Go – Lebanese and Mediterranean food

Kayos Jamaican Grill – Jamaican build-a-bowl

Raj Express - Indian

Stackd Brownies - brownie bakery + ice cream

Rock the Guac Tex Mex (not yet open)

On my first visit, I revisited the A Lo Cubano stall, which I was familiar with from their food truck. I got their Cuban sandwich; I added a side of maduros ($7 - which is gasped at) and a drink. With tip, it was about $35. My friend got a pizza from Antica for $18. The stalls' prices varied between the $10-$25 range (I spotted a $25 oxtail), so if you are on a budget, you must get creative or perhaps not leave as full as you'd like.

My Cuban sandwich was fine, as it always has been, but this comes down to pricing and value, of which I’m still not sold on.

SOME THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

The now defunct Hall on the Yard has left a bad taste in locals mouths when it comes to food hall experiences, and seeing another upscale space is causing immediate comparisons. Knowing that, it’s surprising the marketing for the Great Southern Box hasn’t led with explaining the experience is nothing like that, even if the ambiance seems slightly similar. Actually the marketing hasn’t explained much if you look on their socials.

The ordering process is nothing like the Hall on the Yard in terms of how you order. You walk up to each individual stall, order, give them your phone number and you are texted when it’s ready. There are no servers to track down or deal with.

If you are vegan, your options will be somewhat limited as the vendors all lean pretty carnivore-heavy, but the options aren't nonexistent.

One thing that caught me off guard was the absence of a coffee and bakery option during the morning hours. I was informed on my visit that a Starbucks would be opening later, but if that's the case, it would be disappointing for those who, like myself, prefer a local, independent coffee spot in a local food hall.

I also didn't notice a utensil area (the vendors seemed hesitant when asked for plates and cutlery), or a communal water fountain with cups, or the ability to fill a water bottle.

I would advise patience when ordering your food. The POS seemed to have a learning curve. One vendor said they didn't get to set up their own POS, so guidance was needed when making changes to a dish.

Unbeknownst to me, there was an additional “common fee” on the receipt I didn’t know about until well after the fact. It was 8% and per the food hall, it goes to activations coming in the future. I’m not someone who frets over fees if it means workers are paid a livable wage, but that’s not what it’s for and it wasn’t disclosed and therefore seems a little odd. There weren’t “activations” on my visit, so I was charged for future entertainment I wouldn’t even be enjoying.

PARKING:

There is a free parking garage directly across from the entrance of the food hall.

With just one PAID not hosted visit under my belt, I’m not 100% sold on the offerings and pricing (although I truly do appreciate the diversity in options), I won’t go back for awhile. I was invited to one of their events and declined to attend to see how it ran during regular business with paying customers.

Address: 2105 N. Orange Blossom Trail