The newest food hall to hit D.C.’s restaurant scene, Le Fantome in Riverdale, flung open its doors Aug. 22. Its name, from the French word for “ghost,” is apt considering the space contains seven ghost kitchens, far more than the three consumer-facing stalls currently open there.

Hospitality HQ, the New York-based team behind the unusual culinary facility, has been at work on Le Fantome for more than a year. The company operates food halls around the country, including in Chicago, Omaha, Houston, Portland and Orlando. Locally, it’s also the company behind Chinese restaurant and bar Bar Chinois in Mt. Vernon Triangle.

“I’ve been a tenant in food halls for many years prior to founding HHQ and I found a lot of shortcomings we felt we could change. We try our best to add a personalized, restaurant-style touch to all of our projects which makes it a little more intimate,” Akhtar Nawab, co-CEO of HHQ, tells DCist.

The high ceilings of the hall are covered in Parisian-style ceiling tiles. As you walk in, stalls are located to the right, and and a square, 30-seat bar is directly in front of you, surrounded by two- and four-top tables. Le Fantome looks small for an operation accommodating so many different food businesses, but that’s because the ghost kitchens take up a majority of the 8,500-square-foot building.

Each ghost kitchen one is in their own individual kitchen space not accessible to the public. Delivery and pick-up for the ghost kitchens happens in a separate area with its own entrance on the 46th Street side of the building. Want a preview of your meal? If you walk around the building, there are windows into some of the ghost kitchen spaces.

Unlike the stall vendors, the ghost kitchen does not take walk-up orders; all orders can be placed through third-party apps such as GrubHub or others. Guests who want to sit down with their order from the ghost kitchens are welcome to pick up orders and eat in the main dining area or use the table-top QR codes.

On opening day, Le Fantome was abuzz. There was a line in front of the three open stalls: Korean spot Mökbar — which boasted a 90-minute wait for food at one point — hot chicken purveyor Sonny & Sons, and Horu Sushi. Dozens of people sat at tables, and several more stood outside waiting on their food despite a light rain falling. People in bright green Le Fantome shirts darted between the kitchens, the bar and the dining area delivering food to customers.

The ten vendors of Le Fantome are serving dishes representing India, Mexico, Nigeria, Greece and more. As of this writing, only the three dining area stalls and the bar are open, but the ghost kitchens are expected to begin taking orders Monday, Aug. 29.

“I think when we think about food halls, we’re talking about diversity and a cultural acceptance that we really enjoy about food halls having all these different concepts under one roof–really telling an American story that everyone can be proud of,” said Nawab.

In addition to being multinational, the vendors are a mix of established brands looking to reach a wider following and entrepreneurs like Kareem Queeman, who are opening their first retail shop.

Queeman, owner and operator of Mr. Bake’s Sweets, has been running his successful Alexandria bakery for eight years and has appeared on multiple Food Network shows. According to Queeman, Buddy Valastro, the Food Network’s Cake Boss himself, once said that Mr. Bake’s sweet potato cake is one of the best cakes he’s ever tasted. Queeman was selling wholesale to area restaurants while also doing large custom orders. Now that he’s opened a ghost kitchen at Le Fantome, he’ll be able to sell in smaller quantities and get his name out to more people, he says.

“When I heard about this opportunity, I emailed them and I told them that I am the person to be in this space, not only because my baked goods are the bomb, but because I’m African American and a member of the queer community, which it’s important to represent,” he said. “My banana pudding is just as good, if not better than–you-know-who,” he added, slyly referring to national outlet Magnolia Bakery. (Queeman gifted DCist several sweets, and this writer can confirm that his cupcakes, banana pudding and blondies are delicious.)

If Le Fantome visitors are lucky, they may catch Queeman handing out free desserts. “I’m looking to sample our product in the food hall and walk around,” he says. “I’ve done that when I worked at different bakeries and I want to bring that system here.”

The food hall is open all day starting at 7 a.m., with the bar serving coffee and cafe drinks and Sonny and Sons serving a small breakfast menu in the mornings until the other vendors open up for lunch and dinner.

Below is the list of all the vendors at Le Fantome (* denotes ghost kitchen):

Alta Calidad Taqueria*: An outpost of Nawab’s own Brooklyn Mexican restaurant serving tacos, quesadillas, and sides such as corn esquites, yucca fries and more.

Bombay Kitchen*: This 40-year old Queens sweet shop is bringing their fast-casual chaat (snacks), kathi rolls (proteins or vegetables rolled in a thin paratha bread) and Indian desserts to the D.C. region at Le Fantome.

Dayo’s Kitchen*: In the past year, the local caterer became a Riverdale Farmers Market regular, but now customers can enjoy the Nigerian dishes any time of the week. Look forward to jollof rice, iyan ado (pounded yam), and egusi, a stew made with roasted melon seeds and leafy greens.

Fishscale*: The casual seafood eatery will offer a slightly different menu from the Shaw flagship, which primarily focuses on fish burgers. Look forward to ordering comfort food reminiscent of Southern fish frys from the Riverdale location.

Greek Aroma Mediterranean Grill*: This Mediterranean spot has served Frederick, Maryland for more than a decade. Now they’re expanding into Prince George’s County with their gyros, souvlaki sandwiches, sides, and freshly baked baklava.

Horu Sushi: Horu Sushi in Riverdale is the third outpost of Chef Chin “Steve” Liang’s sushi counter, following those in Dallas and Nashville. He’s also dishing up ramen, poke bowls, and pan-Asian snacks.

Laoban Dumplings*: For their second food hall foray (after Union Market), Laoban from Chefs Tim Ma and Patrick Coyne is offering Chinese dumplings including limited edition offerings created in partnership with other chefs from around the D.C. region.

Mökbar: This modern Korean stall from New York chef Esther Choi offers made-to-order ramen and rice bowls featuring proteins such as Korean bibimbap, chicken katsu curry, and crabby shrimp.

Mr. Bake Sweets*: This dessert ghost kitchen from Alexandria baker Kareem Queeman will offer a rotating menu of cupcakes, banana pudding, blondies, brownies, pies and more. Vegan and gluten free desserts will always be available.

Sonny & Sons: This Indiana eatery shuttered in 2020, but has found a new home in Le Fantome. As the only all-day option in the food hall, they’ll serve everything from breakfast sandwiches and beignets to crispy chicken platters and sandwiches.

Le Fantome is located at 4501 Woodberry St. in Riverdale and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

This story has been updated to clarify that diners can use QR codes to order from the seating area in addition to ordering for pickup, and to update an incorrect characterization of Dayo’s Kitchen.