New Hamlin food hall honors citrus grower

A new food hall planned for the Hamlin community in Horizon West has a name — and it honors a man from Central Florida’s past.

Boyd Development, the developers behind the ongoing Hamlin project, recently unveiled renderings for A.G.’s Market — a new food hall coming to Hamlin next year.

The 22,000-square-foot building will sit just south of the Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas and is expected to have about 18 different vendors inside from food to retail, said Michael Boyd, sales and leasing associate for Boyd Development.

A.G.’s Market is named after Arthur George Hamlin, an attorney who came to Florida in the 1880s, grew citrus and eventually developed the Hamlin orange, which was grown mainly on the current Hamlin site. The name is a nod to Central Florida’s past, Boyd said.

“He was actually an attorney for guys like Henry DeLand, John Stetson and Henry Flagler — some of the longstanding Central Floridians,” Boyd said.

“We’ve tried to, in certain regards at the project, pay homage to A.G. Hamlin,” he said. “We thought, ‘Let’s call it A.G.’s Market and I’m sure people will ask the question, what does A.G. stand for?’ From there that’s how people can learn a little bit about it. … It also stands for ‘A Gathering Market,’ so it kind of has two different meanings there.”

According to the official Hamlin Facebook page, the lakefront venue will provide an array of food, drink and retail options, including craft burgers, pizza, a new twist on southern fried chicken, sushi, tacos, barbecue and dessert. Boyd said that the vendors will be a healthy mix of local names and national-scale operators that want to find a spot in A.G.’s Market. 

Representatives of Boyd Development have been traveling the country to find ideas and ways to bring something special to Hamlin, Boyd said.

“(Food halls) seem to be a very popular thing — you can come with your friends, your family and everybody can get a different thing to eat and reconvene at a table,” Boyd said. “We’re excited about it.”

A second-floor bar will showcase views of Lake Hancock and Disney’s nightly fireworks, as well.

Visitors also can expect a lakefront backyard with a spacious artificial turf lawn for social gatherings or watching live music.

“It should be pretty unique to Central Florida,” Boyd said.

“You might not know what you want to do on a Friday or Saturday night, but you can at least think, ‘Hey, I can go to A.G.’s Market and there’s something for everybody.’”

The building is currently in the design phase, with construction starting in the first quarter of next year and completion expected by the fourth quarter of next year, Boyd said.