Simon Anderson - The Secret to Building a Food Hall That Lasts

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam sits down with Simon Anderson — hospitality consultant, co-founder of Market Halls and founder of Next Space — to explore how food halls, regeneration projects and community-driven design are reshaping the UK’s high streets.Simon reveals how vacant department stores, declining footfall and post-COVID shifts in behaviour have created both risk and opportunity for towns and cities. With a background spanning Saatchi & Saatchi, publishing, and large-scale hospitality operations, he offers a rare mix of creative thinking and real operational clarity.Together they dive into:✔ How food halls can spark economic revival and uplift property values by 10–14%✔ Why collaboration between councils, developers and operators is the “missing ingredient”✔ The difference between a successful food hall and a big empty space filled with traders✔ How co-living, co-working and hybrid venues will shape the next era of hospitality✔ The danger of over-relying on social media and why storytelling still wins✔ What operators can learn from brands like Curb, Blend Family, Dishoom and Time Out✔ The biggest mistakes in regeneration — and how to avoid themPacked with insight for hospitality operators, developers, marketers, councils and anyone involved in place-making, this episode explores how food, culture and community can breathe life back into towns and cities across the UK.Keywords: food halls, urban regeneration, Market Halls, hospitality innovation, place making, high street recovery, Captive Conversations, hospitality strategy, community-led design, Next Space