There was a lot of anticipation surrounding the opening of the new food hall in Inverness’s Victorian Market.
Locals were excited by the promise of a gathering place, something the city was lacking, and of new food and drink to enjoy.
More than three months on from its official opening on September 14, the food hall is still only half full.
Like many other things, the cost of living crisis has hit the market and its progress – with some vendors who may have shown interest being forced to pull the brakes.
Highland Council’s Inverness city area manager David Haas said: “It has affected everyone – whether you’re someone who buys a newspaper in the morning or you’re someone deciding whether to invest a lot of money starting a new business in a unit in the market.
“The cost of fitting out units, the cost of staffing, everything has rocketed so it does make these things, these investment decisions very challenging.”
What will I find in the Victorian Market food hall?
There are 15 units in the food hall and around 50% of the floorspace within is currently empty, according to Mr Haas.
The following businesses have established spots in the food hall:
- Bad Girl Bakery
- Good Girl Greengrocer
- Highland Street Food Pop Up
- Salt N Fire
- Moonshine
- Sushi Inverness
There are also two pop-up spaces that have bookings into the new year.
Mr Haas says, not counting the units that are in the process of being leased, at least five lie empty.
Restoring to former glory
In the creation of the food hall, the market has regained an element of its former glory.
“It has balanced the market’s offering and brought back the attraction it probably had generations ago when the food hall was an open meat market and the fish hall was there selling fresh fish,” said Mr Haas.
“Now we’ve brought the food environment back in a wider sense, we’ve reintroduced the food hall in a 21st century context and we’ve given people a space to gather.”
The market has recently been filled with music as local musicians and choirs have been invited to perform and help create the happy, bustling atmosphere that was intended.
The building itself is a unique space with its place in Inverness’s history, drawing both businesses and customers into it.
Mr Haas said: “It’s historic, that’s the advantage of the Victorian Market over other locations. The space you’re in is interesting in its architecture and the fact we’ve got so many established businesses already in the market.”
Plans moving forward
While the food hall in the Victorian Market has provided Inverness with a gathering space and a host of local food and drink as planned, there is more work to be done.
Mr Haas wants it to be a place people can expect food that is gourmet and high quality while still being accessible to everyone.
Moving forward, he hopes to see the empty units filled with businesses who will continue to diversify the market’s offering – and any who do show an interest will be offered guidance and support.
“The market has always had a history of being eclectic and offering specialist small businesses an opportunity and it has proven itself over the last decade,” he said.
He added: “We’ve got some exciting plans for the new year that we’re working on and at the moment we’re looking after all our businesses in the market, not just our new ones, but also the others, everyone has had a tough time of it.”
Mr Haas said sustainability is also important, so new businesses would ideally be able work in harmony with and even supply produce to existing ones.
In a broader sense, changes being made at the Victorian Market are also part of Highland Council’s wider plans to make Inverness city centre more of a hub and a more accessible place to be.
A recommendation
Rather than recommending his favourite Bad Girl Bakery toastie or Salt N Fire poke bowl, Mr Haas recommended that anyone visiting the Victorian Market gives themselves the time to do so properly.
“My recommendation is give yourself enough time to enjoy it, that’s what you should do,” he said.
“Use it as a base to enjoy the rest of the city centre but also the riverside. It’s a great place to meet and I would recommend it as one, that’s what we’ve created there, a real gathering space in the centre of Inverness which it has never really had.
“If you want atmosphere and you want good food, that’s the place to go.”
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