Orlando's Hall on the Yard permanently closes for failing to pay thousands due in rent, taxes

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Orlando food hall has closed its doors and the owner is being sued after failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent.

The Hall on the Yard has permanently closed its doors. The food hall opened in Orlando’s Ivanhoe Village in 2022. It had nine food stalls and three cocktail bars.

The owner of The Hall on the Yard is being sued by its landlord for breach of lease and is facing eviction. According to the lawsuit, the food hall owes about $250,000 in rent. The owner filed for bankruptcy over a year ago due to pandemic-related construction delays. On top of that, they owe $5,400 in taxes to the Orange County Tax Collector.

It’s not the first time the owner has opened a food hall that shut down. He opened The Hall on Franklin in Tampa, and in that case, he also missed rent payments and owed $47,000 when the lease was terminated.

According to state records, the owner had five other business licenses with a very similar name that were all listed as inactive: The Hall on Central, The Hall on Mags, The Hall at Ashford Lane, The Hall at Midtown, and The Hall at Wynwood Park.

This sudden closure has left employees without jobs. Some former employees say they’re still owed money. An investor on the property Friday said they’re working to get all of the employees paychecks under the circumstances.

"These are people that live, you know, paycheck to paycheck," said Tom Egan who used to work there. "You left so many people, you know, struggling to pay rent and hurting."