The Budd Dairy Food Hall opened in Columbus’s Italian Village last week! A unique, open-concept group of nine stationary chef partners, along with one rotating chef partner, there’s sure to be an option to suit every palate.
The Food Hall is located in the building that previously housed the Budd Dairy processing plant. The plant was built in 1916 to house William H. Budd’s direct delivery milk service, and at the company’s peak, its processing capacity was 9,000 gallons, daily. The second floor of the building became “Budd’s Assembly Hall,” which was used to host luncheons and radio dances.
In 1928, William Budd sold the company to the Hamilton Milk Co., which was subsequently bought out by the Borden Dairy Company in 1934. Borden Dairy continued to use the processing plant until 1967 when the Italian Village building was abandoned.
Now, the Budd Dairy building is back in use, featuring an eclectic mix of chef partners. The nine permanent chef partners of the Budd Dairy Food Hall are Cluck Norris, Tacos Rudos, Stauf’s Coffee Roasters, Pokebap, Cousins Maine Lobster, Bonifacio, Modern Southern Table, Alphabetical, and Borgata Pizza. Currently, the Hatch rotating chef-partner is The Cheesecake Girl.
The Budd Dairy Food Hall is located on 4th St. in the Italian Village, just north of downtown. It has a pretty spacious parking lot—I visited on a busy weekday evening but was still able to find a spot.
The first floor of the Budd Dairy Food Hall is designed just like a food court, full of seating and lined with restaurants. After walking in, guests seat themselves at any open table with a menu. The menu contains QR codes for the various restaurants; patrons scan the QR code, and the corresponding link is an online ordering platform.
The top of the page will provide the expected time of completion for your order, and the website menu has detailed descriptions and pictures. You select your meal, add it to the cart with any desired customizations, and then pay with a credit card or Apple Pay.
Orders can also be placed through the Toast Takeout and Delivery smartphone app, or by walking up to the counter at any of the restaurant stands. Servers also rotate throughout the seating area to take drink orders.
When your food is ready, the restaurant will send you a text, and you simply walk up the restaurant stall to collect. When I visited, I sampled food from Cluck Norris, Tacos Rudos, and The Cheesecake Girl—all was delicious!
The second floor of the Food Hall contains Simon’s Bar and lounge-style seating, and more seating is available on the rooftop patio. In addition, there are two outdoor patio areas.
Ultimately, visiting the Budd Dairy Food Hall was enjoyable. The architecture and decorations of the building are neat, the electronic ordering was seamless, and the atmosphere was lively. The varied restaurant selection works well for friend groups who have different tastes, and the presence of the rotating kitchen ensures that there’s always something new to try.
The Budd Dairy Food Hall is open from 4PM-11PM on Tuesday through Thursday, 4PM-1AM on Friday, 11AM-1AM on Saturday, 11AM-10PM on Sunday, and closed on Monday.
Featured photo by Emily Dietz
