Can you imagine going to a place to eat and everything is pretty much the same price?
That’s the dream Cory Nelson had after his success with Troy Kitchen. He decided a few months ago to open The Cloud Food Hall in Downtown Albany with the concept that everything would be $4.99. You order through the app, pay through the app, and pick it up at the window. The concept seemed great in theory but in practice, not so much. The prices are still really fair for a decent portion of food but, as you can see from the app, $4.99 was a tough price point.
So far there’s only one Cloud Food Hall location but his hope is to have 4 open by the end of the year, according to the Times Union, “including a conversion of the Troy Kitchen space, which is presently closed, with one likely in Schenectady and another to serve the suburbs, perhaps Latham or Clifton Park.”
I decided to stop by and order something. At first, the app is a little overwhelming. The use of it is incredibly simple but my indecisiveness makes it complicated. Not only do I have to decide from the 6 or so places, which one I want to order from, but what from THAT menu I want to order. Everything sounded great so I had trouble deciding. Could I have ordered from a few different places? Sure, but my stomach just didn’t have the room for it! I ended up getting a burger with onion rings. The burger was delicious, reminiscent of Shake Shack’s style. The onion rings were honestly some of the best I’ve ever had.
The only thing that surprised me was the setup of the space. If you’re familiar with what Troy Kitchen used to be, you could go up to various restaurant’s booths and order. In this space, there’s one pick-up window and everything else is behind a wall. There’s a lot of space for seating but that’s it. It leaves me wondering if there are actually 6 separate up-and-coming restaurants like Troy Kitchen or are they all coming from the same place. Either way, the space is beautiful, the food tastes great, and I can’t wait to see the potential expansion all over the Capital Region.
