Straw Hat Sundae Shop, one of the original vendors when the Flagship City Food Hall opened in November 2021, will soon be leaving.

Straw Hat, which serves ice cream from Penn State’s Berkey Creamery, is expected to leave the food hall by the end of the month, said Drew Whiting, CEO of the Erie Downtown Development Corp., which operates the food hall.

“Straw Hat has been a fixture in the Flagship City Food Hall since the beginning” Whiting said in a statement. “While we are sad to see them leave, their departure presents an opportunity for another local vendor. We look forward to making that announcement in the coming weeks.”

Straw Hat’s departure leaves just two original tenants: Dina’s Authentic Dominican Kitchen and Noodle Love.

The EDDC says it’s not alarmed by the ongoing turnover inside the food hall on North Park Row. Tim NeCastro, who is both CEO of Erie Insurance and president of the EDDC’s board, said recently that the food hall was always envisioned as an incubator and that turnover was expected.

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At the same time, Whiting has said that the EDDC is in the process of updating the formula by which tenants pay rent to the EDDC based on a percentage of their sales. Whiting said he’s hopeful those changes can help vendors be more successful and allow them to ultimately pay less.

Straw Hat has a long-time location in North East, which remains in business.

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The location in the food hall was operated by Chris Adams and Justin Stull, who are also the owners of Bricks at Cashier’s House, an upscale restaurant located at 417 State St.

Contact Jim Martin at [email protected].