Outdoor food hall 'Bowen Yard' to expand to keep up with local growth

Expansion of Winter Haven food hall

An outdoor food hall and event space has plans to expand as more people move to the downtown Winter Haven area. Carla Bayron reports.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - An outdoor food hall and event space has plans to expand as more people move to the downtown Winter Haven area.

"I've been the executive chef since we opened about a year ago," said Jason Boniface, who works at Maritime, a seafood restaurant at Bowen Yard in the heart of Winter Haven.

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"One of the main reasons we chose this building and area is because of the new apartment complexes opening up through Six / Ten to bring more people through this area," he said. 

What we know:

Six / Ten developed the indoor and outdoor food hall that has been open for a year. They're going to begin the second phase of the $8 million project – the renovation of four buildings across the street to turn into food, retail or entertainment spaces.

The drainage ditch in between the current and new buildings will be turned into a city park with new lighting and landscaping, a walking trail and pedestrian bridge. 

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"We have more and more folks living downtown," said Bud Strang, Six / Ten's CEO. "One of the benefits is being able to walk to things and I think we have more than 30 restaurants in the downtown core, so we have a lot of selections."

Strang said he hasn't signed any leases yet, but he's in discussions.

What they're saying:

Boniface hopes with more foot traffic, Maritime grows and becomes more well-known.

"More restaurants and more shops would benefit us all," he said. "We're here for the long game not the short game so we want to make this area the best it can be." 

What's next:

Strang expects to have construction completed by late summer of next year.