More than a year after the unexpected closure of the former Little Italy Food Hall, a new multi-concept venue featuring pizza, lobster, burgers, and Thai food has taken its place on the fringe of the bustling Piazza della Famiglia, marking a significant revival for one of San Diego’s most popular dining neighborhoods.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Global Fork Food Hall, the brainchild of San Diego-based Tiger Hospitality, opened late last month after approximately six months of delays due to permitting issues with the city of San Diego. The more than $3 million project involved gutting the former space and redesigning it with a more inviting, elevated look.
The renovation included a new indoor-outdoor bar that features electronically controlled shelves of liquor that move up and down, a design element that reflects the investment Tiger Hospitality has made in creating a distinctive experience. The entire 5,000-square-foot space was gutted and redesigned by San Diego firm Basile Studio, which has done extensive work for CH Projects restaurants, including Morning Glory, Born & Raised, and Ironside Fish & Oyster.
“Being in a very high-density area with all the local residents, plus the tourists who like to come through that area, and our diverse offerings in a unique setting gives us an optimistic feel,” said Jim Krieger, Tiger Hospitality’s chief operating officer. “Our expectation isn’t to take away from all the other places in Little Italy, but to enhance the area and bring more people down for yet another great option.”
The individual venues within Global Fork are glass-enclosed with unique facades that employ colored tile and wood accents, creating what Krieger described as a “more elevated and old European feel but with modern twists.” The food hall already offers live music on Friday and Saturday nights and plans to add other activities to enliven the piazza.
The culinary lineup reflects both local and national talent. Tiger Hospitality relied in part on three of its own concepts: Cosmos Burger, Lobster Lab, and La Vida, known for smoothies, salads, wraps, and bowls. Added to the mix are Prik Ki Nū Thai Cuisine and Seattle-based Moto pizza, recognized for its sourdough crust and thicker, Detroit-style rectangular slices.
“It was important to keep some authenticity, and pizza is a big part of Little Italy, and we just fell in love with Moto,” Krieger said, noting that the Tiger team conducted extensive taste testings. “They do it a bit differently than other places in Little Italy. We took the same approach with the Thai or Chinese offering. After sampling numerous vendors, we thought Prik Ki Nū Thai was by far the best.”
For dessert, a Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream truck is stationed just outside, offering a limited selection of flavors compared to its brick-and-mortar locations. Global Fork is also planning to expand its beverage program, with the movable liquor shelves serving as a conversation piece and functional bar element.
The opening of Global Fork is significant for Little Italy’s business ecosystem. The neighborhood has become one of San Diego’s most popular dining and entertainment districts, drawing both locals and tourists to its pedestrian-friendly streets, weekly farmers market, and growing collection of restaurants and bars. The closure of the previous food hall in February 2025 left a visible gap in the neighborhood’s offerings.
Tiger Hospitality already operates a food hall in San Clemente and will soon open another in La Jolla. In September, the company will open a food hall at UC San Diego across from the La Jolla Playhouse, known as Station 8 Public Market, featuring nine venues including Moto, House of Bao, and CoCo Playa, a coffee and cookie shop. The company is also expanding its Lobster Lab concept outside of a food hall environment, opening next week at the Sky Deck within the Del Mar Highlands Town Center.
The food hall model has proven resilient in San Diego’s competitive dining market, offering consumers variety and the ability to accommodate different tastes within a group. The format also benefits operators by sharing overhead costs such as rent, utilities, and marketing across multiple concepts.
The dining emporium occupies the ground floor of a 97-unit apartment building developed by H.G. Fenton in 2018, along with the original food hall, located on West Date Street between Columbia and India streets. The previous food hall was operated by Grain and Grit Collective, known for Carnitas Snack Shack on the Embarcadero and several Broken Yolk Cafe franchises outside of San Diego, and featured vendors associated with San Diego-based Sam Zien, better known as “Sam the Cooking Guy.”
For Little Italy, the return of a food hall to this prime location near the Piazza della Famiglia completes the restoration of a dining destination that had been a neighborhood anchor since 2018. The investment by Tiger Hospitality signals continued confidence in the long-term vitality of one of San Diego’s most dynamic neighborhoods.
The opening is also a positive sign for San Diego’s broader restaurant industry, which has faced significant headwinds in recent years. Rising food costs, labor shortages, and changing consumer habits have forced many restaurants to close or scale back operations. The food hall model, which shares overhead costs across multiple concepts and offers consumers variety, has proven more resilient than traditional single-concept restaurants.
Tiger Hospitality’s expansion plans, including the upcoming Station 8 Public Market at UC San Diego and the standalone Lobster Lab at Del Mar Highlands Town Center, represent a significant vote of confidence in the San Diego dining market. The company’s willingness to invest more than $3 million in the Global Fork project, despite the permitting delays that pushed back the opening by six months, demonstrates a long-term commitment to the region’s culinary economy.
The food hall’s emphasis on local and regional food concepts also supports San Diego’s growing reputation as a culinary destination. By featuring Seattle-based Moto pizza alongside local concepts like Cosmos Burger and Lobster Lab, Global Fork creates a mix that appeals to both residents seeking familiar flavors and tourists looking for unique dining experiences. The presence of a dessert option in the form of Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream adds a family-friendly element that could broaden the venue’s appeal beyond the dinner and bar crowd.
