Galley Bakery Square food hall concept changing

Building owner enters new lease with new management team

Building owner enters new lease with new management team

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Building owner enters new lease with new management team

Changes are coming to the Galley at Bakery Square. It will soon become "City Kitchen at Bakery Square" under a new management agreement with a new operator.

Ashley McCoy has more than 27 years of restaurant experience. Just last week, her restaurant Revival officially opened inside Galley at Bakery Square; she now has 60 days to vacate the space. She says she is frustrated and worried, not only for her future but also for the future of her employees.

"I've been here with Revival for three weeks after being promised a year," said McCoy while fighting back tears.

"In my situation right now, I just, I don't know," added McCoy. "It's sad."

Galley leased the space for their Bakery Square location from Walnut Capital Investments. The lease was terminated, and Walnut Capital has entered into a new agreement with a different local management team, Shaka Restaurant Group.

The new "City Kitchen at Bakery Square" will no longer be a food hall concept; instead, the plan is to consolidate food and beverage offerings under one hospitality team.

In a statement to Pittsburgh's Action News 4, Galley CEO Chad Ellingboe said Galley was surprised by the termination of their lease.

"Bakery Square Retail LP terminated the management agreement with Galley Food Hall Management LLC, dba, Galley-Bakery Square on June 6, 2023 without cause and without prior warning. While they notified us on June 6, 2023 it's become apparent the deal has been in the works for sometime even while we were onboarding two new concepts.We were shocked by this news, and we asked Walnut Capital to reimburse the two concepts that opened in the last month, and we are working to provide opportunities for as many people as we can."

A statement from Walnut Capital Investments said:

"We understand that the timing of this change is unfortunate and while we are not the operator of Galley at Bakery Square, Walnut Capital will voluntarily reimburse the recently opened kitchen for their startup expenses. We also understand that the ownership of Shaka Restaurant Group operates a kitchen at Federal Galley and has offered to transition that space to Ashley -- that is a decision, however, that would need to be made by Galley Group and we will help however possible."

The transition period is expected to take 60 days. Both Galley and Walnut Capital said they are working to ensure that all of the people impacted by this change will be offered jobs either at City Kitchen or Federal Galley.