The Market at 7th Street

What The Market at 7th Street does

The Market at 7th Street is a nonprofit food hall and small business incubator located at 224 E. 7th Street in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 2010 as North Carolina's first food hall, it operates a single physical location housing approximately 12 current vendors offering food, beverages, and retail goods, with a stated focus on women-owned (80%), minority-owned (60%), and locally-owned (100%) businesses. The organization has incubated over 175 businesses cumulatively since opening, positioning itself as a community gathering hub adjacent to the 7th Street Lynx Light Rail station.

The Market generates revenue through three primary streams: subsidized retail and kitchen space rentals via a progressive rent model designed to lower barriers for emerging entrepreneurs, recurring revenue from the Market Makers Membership program, and transaction-based income from recurring Pop-Up Market events. Its sub-brands include the HIIVE Program, a 9-week structured small business development curriculum operated in partnership with Charlotte Center City Partners, and the Market Makers Membership community support program. The organization does not rely on proprietary technology systems; its operations are grounded in physical retail infrastructure, community events, and direct vendor relationships.

The Market is governed by a board with representatives from major Charlotte institutions including Bank of America, Atrium Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, The Duke Endowment, and the City of Charlotte, and is affiliated with Charlotte Center City Partners. It received the 2026 USA Today Reader's Choice Top Ten Food Halls in America award. Funding appears to derive from vendor rents, membership dues, event fees, and community grants rather than traditional equity investment, consistent with its nonprofit corporate structure.

Name

The Market at 7th Street

Legal name

The Market at 7th Street

Website

https://themarketat7thstreet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Market at 7th Street is a nonprofit food hall and small business incubator in Uptown Charlotte, NC, established in 2010 as North Carolina's first food hall. It houses 12 vendors, has incubated 175+ businesses, and supports emerging entrepreneurs through subsidized rent, the HIIVE curriculum, and community events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Hall Services

NAICS

Specialty Food Retailers (4452), Food and Beverage Retailers (445)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Prepared Foods & Catering-Focused Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community-Owned / Nonprofit Grocery Stores (CRAHALAB)

Keywords

• Food hall operations
• Small business incubator
• Nonprofit community space
• Vendor retail space
• Entrepreneurship education

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail and Kitchen Space Rental: The Market generates revenue by providing subsidized retail and kitchen spaces to emerging food and retail entrepreneurs. As a nonprofit, it uses a progressive rent model to lower barriers for small business owners.
2. Market Maker Membership Program: Community membership program where members pay to support the nonprofit mission and gain access to benefits, helping sustain the food hall's operations.
3. Pop-Up Market Events: Revenue-generating community events and pop-up markets that create additional income opportunities for the Market and participating small businesses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Market at 7th Street is a nonprofit food hall and small business incubator that provides subsidized retail and kitchen spaces to approximately 12 emerging food and retail entrepreneurs in Uptown Charlotte. It operates as a community gathering place offering a diverse mix of local and global food, beverages, and artisan goods, supplemented by pop-up market events and the HIIVE 9-week small business development curriculum.

Product overview

The Market at 7th Street operates as a single unified offering: a nonprofit food hall and small business incubator that houses approximately 12 vendor businesses. The Market provides physical retail and kitchen spaces for emerging food and retail entrepreneurs, supplemented by Pop-Up Markets that create additional revenue opportunities, and the HIIVE Program which offers a structured 9-week small business development curriculum. The Market Makers Membership program enables community support for the mission. Individual vendors like Chop Chop Red Pot operate as tenant businesses within the Market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Market Makers Membership: A membership program that allows community members to directly support the organization's mission of sustaining Charlotte's nonprofit food hall and incubator.
• HIIVE Program

Products and services

• The Market at 7th Street Food Hall A nonprofit food hall, retail space, and community gathering place in Uptown Charlotte that houses approximately 12 small businesses offering food, beverages, and artisan goods. Operates as a small business incubator, providing subsidized retail and kitchen spaces to emerging entrepreneurs.
• Pop-Up Markets Program of community events and pop-up vendor markets that bring additional small businesses to the Market space for special events, creating temporary distribution opportunities for entrepreneurs and increased foot traffic for existing vendors.
• HIIVE Program (Hub for Inclusivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship) A 9-week small business development curriculum designed to support emerging entrepreneurs with education, resources, and mentorship opportunities to help launch and grow their food and retail businesses.
• Market Makers Membership A membership program that allows community members to directly support the nonprofit food hall's mission of sustaining Charlotte's food hall and small business incubator. Members pay recurring dues to support the nonprofit and gain access to community benefits.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35+ businesses incubated since 2010
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LAZ ParkingminorOthersLAZ Parking operates the 7th Street Station Parking Garage adjacent to The Market. The Market validates parking for the first 2 hours for customers who make a purchase. Excess parking time is charged at posted garage rates.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Chelsea Market: Landmark food hall in New York City offering diverse food, retail, and office tenants. Comparable as a multi-vendor prepared food destination with a curated mix of local and artisanal vendors.
• Industry City: Brooklyn-based mixed-use complex featuring food halls, retail, light industrial, and event space. Comparable to The Market at 7th Street as a multi-vendor destination supporting small and emerging food businesses.
• Assembly Food Hall: Multi-story food hall in Nashville's Broadway district featuring dozens of local chef-driven vendors, bars, and live music. Comparable to The Market at 7th Street as a high-foot-traffic, multi-vendor food hall in a Southeastern US urban market.
• Oxford Exchange: Tampa mixed-use destination combining a restaurant, coffee shop, bookstore, co-working, and event space in a historic building. Comparable to The Market at 7th Street as a community gathering destination with curated food tenants and retail in a Southeastern US market.
• Urbanspace Vanderbilt: Midtown Manhattan food hall featuring curated local restaurant vendors and catering concepts. Comparable to The Market at 7th Street as a multi-vendor food hall targeting daily lunch and dinner foot traffic from nearby workers and visitors.
• City Foundry STL: Adaptive-reuse food hall and retail destination in St. Louis featuring curated local food vendors and event space. Directly comparable as a multi-vendor food hall with a focus on local entrepreneurship and community-driven programming.
• Ponce City Market: Iconic adaptive-reuse food hall in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward, featuring curated local food vendors, retail, and event space. Directly comparable to The Market at 7th Street as a multi-vendor food hall emphasizing local entrepreneurs and community gathering.

Broad incumbents

• Time Out Market: Global chain of curated food halls operated by Time Out Group, featuring chef-driven vendors across multiple cities. Broader incumbent comparable to The Market at 7th Street as a curated multi-vendor food hall, though operating at portfolio scale with significantly more capital.
• Eataly: Multi-location Italian marketplace combining retail, restaurants, and educational experiences. Comparable in offering a curated mix of prepared foods, retail, and gathering space, though at much larger scale and with a single-cuisine focus.

Emerging players

• The Mill (various): Independent community-oriented food hall and gathering space in cities like Santa Ana, CA. Comparable to The Market at 7th Street as a smaller, mission-driven food hall emphasizing local small businesses and community programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/themarketat7thst
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-market-at-7th-street

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Market at 7th Street