I think the fatal flaw of District Kitchen is simply its location within the Harborside complex. No one really wants to walk deep inside a sterile office building to go to a food court, especially if it feels like you’re walking through an airport terminal. This only works when you have a captive audience of office workers that’s large enough to sustain it without having to rely on the patronage of outsiders and weekend visitors.

They should have put it at the south end of the building, which faces Columbus Dr and is right next to the Exchange Place PATH. That would drive more foot traffic because it would be a lot more convenient and visible to people commuting by bus and PATH, as well as for people who live in Paulus Hook.

To me, the renovation of that whole building complex is like putting lipstick on a pig. They should have bulldozed it and started from a clean slate. The area should be built with a smaller scale street grid that’s more in keeping with the historic parts of downtown. That would have made it feel more like an actual neighborhood that people want to spend time in.