Ingka, the parent company of Ikea, is ending a partnership with the British developer that had been overseeing the Mid-Market store’s struggling multilevel dining complex, Saluhall. 

Ingka has “mutually agreed” to end its partnership with Kerb Food, which has operated Saluhall since its debut in April 2024. Ingka will take over day-to-day operations of the business.

It’s a big reset for a food concept once hailed as a Market Street savior. Ingka pitched Saluhall as a concept (opens in new tab) that it could replicate around the world. But recent closures of vendor restaurants and turnover in management show that the model has failed to find its footing. The hall’s second floor has two empty kiosks out of five and vendors who have not yet renewed their leases. A spokesperson said Ingka is in the process of bringing in three new vendors. 

Kerb, which operates The Public Market food hall in Emeryville, (opens in new tab) did not respond to a request for comment.

Current and former Saluhall vendors had a range of reactions to the news, with some blaming Kerb for the hall’s lackluster performance, while others attributed its challenges to Market Street’s overall post-pandemic malaise. The food hall has lacked consistent foot traffic, particularly for businesses on the second floor, according to four current and former vendors who have struggled (opens in new tab) to make ends meet.

“There was only so much a management company could do,” said Lourdes Nau, proprietor of Casa Borinqueña, a Puerto Rican restaurant that was one of Saluhall’s first tenants. She blames her slow sales on Market Street’s reputation for drug markets and homelessness. “We just need foot traffic back to the street — if people don’t want to come to the area, then I don’t think this is just a marketing problem.” 

Her lease has ended, and she’s deliberating whether to stay. “It feels like a venture into the unknown right now,” she said. “I feel optimistic but nervous about it as well.” 

One former vendor, who requested anonymity to speak freely about management, said Kerb’s U.K.-based leaders “didn’t understand the culture here” and were difficult to work with. “I just felt like there was ambivalence and a lack of support.” 

The 450-seat complex on Market Street opened with primarily vegetarian and vegan options but pivoted in January to bring in a wider range of eateries — including the popular smashburger joint Smish Smash. Several of Saluhall’s original vendors closed in the months that followed.

But even some of the new, meat-forward tenants have struggled: Taqueria El Ultimo Baile (opens in new tab) operated for only a few months before departing the food hall (opens in new tab) in September. 

Several kiosk operators and a Saluhall employee said they believe Ingka’s decision to part ways with Kerb will enable the food hall to streamline its operations and cut costs. Saluhall’s management has suffered from high turnover in recent months, according to sources, and the lack of consistency has rattled vendors. 

Vendors fear that Ingka may eliminate one of Saluhall’s key draws: its communal dishwashing and table busing service. As a result, vendors may be forced to transition to compostable dishes and utensils instead of reusable ones, sparking fears of increased costs.

“I’m saddened by that — having real dishes was different, and a really good concept,” Nau said. While she assumes that the method was a significant cost for Saluhall, she’s apprehensive about how more take-out containers will affect her own budget. 

The opening of the first Ikea in San Francisco in 2023 was hailed as a victory for the beleaguered downtown core, which was struggling with office and retail vacancies as a result of the pandemic shutdown. 

Ingka acquired the site of a vacant mall at 945 Market St. in 2020. The cost of purchasing and redeveloping the property was more than $260 million (opens in new tab). 

In addition to Saluhall, Ingka launched a cooking school, as well as a coworking business, which has more than 60 tenants, to activate empty floors. An events space, which hosts its grand opening Friday (opens in new tab), will offer custom catering packages from Saluhall vendors; one expressed hope that this would boost business. 

Miia Kautovaara, a manager at 945 Market St., said in a statement that Kerb had been “essential” in establishing Saluhall, but that Ingka is “now bringing the concept even closer to its core business and long-term vision.” As it integrates Saluhall with its new events space, she said that the “next phase will show how these offerings can thrive under one roof.”

Despite employing ample security at the site, Ingka executives have admonished city officials for street conditions in the area, which is in close proximity to an open-air drug market. Since then, public and private groups have committed to cleaning the alleyways behind the 375,000-square-foot property.