Downtown Boston Food Hall High Street Place Targets Champagne-Soaked March 2022 Opening

2019 looked like it’d be Boston’s Year of the Food Hall, but construction delays and other challenges — it should go without saying at this point, but yes, the pandemic — hit a number of planned projects, and food hall openings are stretching into 2022 and beyond. Downtown Boston’s High Street Place, for one, was announced way back in summer 2018 with a target opening date of fall 2019; that didn’t happen, but it’s now gearing up for a March 2022 debut and announcing a few new vendors.

Connecting the buildings at 160 Federal St. and 100 High St. in the heart of Boston’s Financial District, High Street Place will play host to 19 food and beverage vendors. It’ll have an open-air atrium-like feel, a gigantic LED video entertainment system that can display multiple sports games at the same time, and seating for about 500 diners.

Restaurateur Tiffani Faison — who pretty much owns Boston’s Fenway neighborhood with her quartet of businesses there (Sweet Cheeks, Tiger Mama, Fool’s Errand, and Orfano) — is opening three new businesses at the downtown food hall under the umbrella of her hospitality group, Big Heart Hospitality. In addition to the previously announced Tenderoni’s (a ’70s and ’80s throwback pizza-and-grinder shop) and Dive Bar (a sort of New Orleans-meets-coastal-New-England seafood spot), she’ll be opening Bubble Bath, a Champagne and wine bar complete with a Moët & Chandon Champagne vending machine, fancy hot dogs, popcorn, and rentable wine and spirit lockers for storage.

Another newcomer to the vendor list is Lionheart Confections, the ultra-popular doughnut pop-up from pastry chef Kate Holowchik, who has been making appearances in and around Boston throughout the pandemic, drawing huge lines for ube cinnamon rolls, choco taco doughnuts, and more.

Also new to the list: Kutzu, serving noodle and rice bowls, banh mi, salads, and more, drawing inspiration from Southeast Asian, Vietnamese, and Korean cuisines. Watch for “pho-men” bowls — a fusion of pho and ramen.

Plus, Cambridge-based Jewish-style delicatessen Mamaleh’s — which recently expanded to Brookline — is also joining the lineup, serving bagels, pastrami, pastries, and such.

A baker’s dozen of previously announced vendors have also stuck around during the long opening process. When High Street Place finally debuts, it’ll be home to:

• Wheelhouse and Haley Jane’s, both from the crew behind now-closed downtown burger destination Wheelhouse. The new Wheelhouse location will feature breakfast items as well as burgers and sandwiches; Haley Jane’s will focus on fried chicken sandwiches based on the ever-popular fried chicken sandwich special at the old Wheelhouse location.
• Pennypacker’s, the Somerville-based legendary purveyor of porchetta sandwiches. It’ll also be serving other sandwiches, salads, and bar snacks here.
• Mike & Patty’s, the little sandwich shop from Boston’s Bay Village (and now Somerville, too, and eventually Jamaica Plain). Here, they’ll feature breakfast sandwiches and more.
• Fuji at High Street Place, the ninth location for the JP Fuji Group, which features restaurants that serve Japanese food, sushi, and more. This location will include bestsellers from sibling locations and some new items, as well as Japanese sake, beer, and whisky.
• Hum’Oveh, serving Middle Eastern street food, including flatbreads, sandwiches, mezze, and more.
• Northeast of the Border, serving Mexican food and frozen margaritas. This’ll be the first brick-and-mortar location for the food truck.
• The Farmacy Cafe, which started in a shipping container in Boston’s Seaport District. (It was previously known as Jubali.) It’ll serve breakfast toasts, rice and salad bowls, gluten-free treats, seasonal beverages, and more, focusing on local sourcing.
• Gorgeous Gelato, a Portland, Maine-based gelato shop from Milan natives Donato Giovine and Mariagrazia Zanardi. The menu will include gelato cannoli, gelato panini, and gelato-based cocktails.
• Daiquiris & Daisies, a cocktail bar from Hojoko alums Daren Swisher and Joseph Cammarata.
• Gracenote Coffee, a Boston-based coffee company that will add spiked coffees and wines to its menu at this location.
• Mother Juice, a juice and smoothie shop. This will be the team’s fourth location, and it’ll also serve breakfast bowls, toasts, salads, and more.
• Newburyport Brewing, a North Shore-based brewery that’ll feature a dozen taps here, including one gluten-free option.