‘Box Owt’ Food Court Breaks Ground on Dauphin Street in Downtown Mobile

Downtown Mobile’s dining landscape is about to change. Organizers broke ground Monday morning at 9 a.m. for “Box Owt,” a repurposed cargo container development on Dauphin Street next to the Downtown Mobile Alliance that aims to become the area’s first open food court.

Built from shipping containers on what has been an empty lot for years, Box Owt is designed to give small food producers — including food truck operators — an affordable foothold in downtown. Many of these vendors could never shoulder rent on Dauphin Street alone; collectively sharing one space makes it possible, offering diners a rotating variety of independent concepts in a single stop.

The project’s website describes it as “the first and only option for families, groups, and individuals to enjoy five independent dining concepts under the same roof.”

The vendors have been kept under wraps, but samples of their offerings were planned at the groundbreaking. Organizers are targeting a February soft opening to catch Mardi Gras crowds, with a grand opening expected in April or May.

Timing and location

Mobile’s 2022 Carnival season ended on Fat Tuesday, March 1, and many of the city’s downtown parades roll along Dauphin Street, putting the site on one of the season’s busiest stretches.

The Downtown Mobile Alliance, whose office is next to the site, is a nonprofit that promotes and manages Mobile’s downtown district.