The Citadel Food Hall in the Little River District is open for business with cool bites and hip vibes that elevate creativity

Originally built in 1951 as a First Federal Savings & Loan Bank, The Citadel is a 62,000-square-foot, mixed-use Mimo landmark that integrates a cooperative working space concept with a craft food hall & bar, retail space, a rooftop bar, media studio, and live music and entertainment venues.

Now open, its downstairs 15,000-square-foot Food Hall is the new “it girl” in Miami; a casual culinary retreat lined with enticing wooden textures and visually-striking patterns that hosts 15 individual craft food concepts from some of the city’s best-known dining establishments. Current vendors include Wynwood’s Palmar (Chinese), Taquiza (Mexican street food and taquería) Ash! Pizza Parlor, Vice City Bean (coffee), Bianco Gelato, Rare Burger, 33 Kitchen (Peruvian), Manjay (Caribbean Cuisine) and more, all showcasing a specific side of Miami’s culture and flavor.

But perhaps the more brilliant aspect of the Food Hall lies in its “visionary” vibe. Through its concept of creative workspace and gallery, The Citadel is a community-centric hub looking to attract all the basic food groups: artists, freelance designers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, techies and intelligentsia, in order to turn the Little River Neighborhood into a true Miami creative hub. In a city so attuned to the art (and need) of connections, The Citadel is looking to turn “networking” into a more organic and approachable experience through its casually immersive and strangely addictive environment, where you are made to feel as though you’re eating your taco five feet away from the “next big thing” in tech. Or art. Or tech art.

Serving as the proverbial watering hole of a breathing sustainable creative ecosystem, the Food Hall and its inspired-yet-approachable cuisine serve as the neural core of its collaborative concept. Claiming to want to “incite rebellion” and give space where ideas can truly stretch their legs (and maybe even become self-aware), The Citadel wants you to watch your project take a life of its own...while you munch on delicious, sustainably sourced beef and organic gelato.

I’m in!

The Citadel is located at 8300 NE Second Avenue in Miami’s Little River neighborhood. Follow @TheCitadelMIA on Facebook and Instagram. For more information, visit

This story was originally published March 15, 2019 at 2:02 PM.