The Hub on Causeway (née TD Garden Towers) | 80 Causeway Street | West End

The new supermarket is hard to photograph, so these don't give a sense of the scale involved.
Main entrance:
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1st floor convenience store (photo quality is bad, whoops)
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Staircase down
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Shot facing left from staircase. By my estimate, you can see roughly 1/4 of the store from this
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Direct exit to first floor of NS garage:
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And map handed out:
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This area is growing into a nice pedestrian area... If not a little sparse on actual people when I went...
 
The photos of the Star give me a similar vibe to the Marks and Spencer we visited in Edinburgh a few years back. Very European and I like it.
 
Bos77 said:
I already know why.. but keep asking myself: What is the obsession/misconception in this city that the only supermarkets that can work, are 30-60K suburban style markets. I literally had 5 small format markets near my flat in London (most half the size, or likely less, than a typical suburban CVS ). I survived, as do the other 8M residents on a daily basis. It has been DECADES of moaning in this city 'we need a supermarket in the Seaport, we need a market in the West End', and literally it's like what the actual fuck? How could the small format model not work in urban centers, especially when the workday population doubles?? Why do endless ATMs and CVS's find a way to propagate, but fresh food.... HAS to be a suburban style store only?
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Because we have no real equivalent to a Tesco Express or Sainsbury's Local here - scaled down versions of supermarkets with prices that are equivalent to what you'd pay at the big store. Just got back from a trip to the UK and the model over there work incredibly well, but we don't have the same thing as a Stop & Shop Express or a Star Local. Yes, we have 7-11s and Richdales, but they aren't the same.
 
HelloBostonHi said:
This area is growing into a nice pedestrian area... If not a little sparse on actual people when I went...
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It is. I'm hoping that changes when the construction wraps up. Chunks of that side of Causeway (on either side of the big entrance with the Star Market) are closed to pedestrians right now due to the construction. That interrupts the flow as everyone has to cross or walk through N. Station (or walk down the middle of the bike path).

North Shore said:
Because we have no real equivalent to a Tesco Express or Sainsbury's Local here - scaled down versions of supermarkets with prices that are equivalent to what you'd pay at the big store. Just got back from a trip to the UK and the model over there work incredibly well, but we don't have the same thing as a Stop & Shop Express or a Star Local. Yes, we have 7-11s and Richdales, but they aren't the same.
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I'd agree that we don't have nearly as many as you'll find in UK cities, but it's not as if we have nothing comparable. There are three small format Stop and Shops (formerly BFresh) in Somerville, Newton, and Allston. Trader Joe's in Back Bay is certainly small format. And while not perfectly synonymous, grocery is a big chunk of the small format Target stores across the region. If anything, Boston is trending away from the large scale suburban supermarkets in urban areas. This Star Market is an outlier in terms of square footage, but like the downtown Roche Brothers, it has a small ground level footprint.
 
I checked out the Star Market (excitedly) opening day, and agree with FitchburgLine: it's a difficult space to photograph. The escalator and elevator core coming into the center of the store make it something of a doughnut-shaped layout. That said, below are some of the photos I captured Friday.

I was very happy to see the place had a healthy amount of people walking around at 6PM on its opening Friday. I was most impressed by the variety of self-serve, fast casual food options AND the impressive selection of plant-based meat options in the meat section (the most I've seen from any grocery store anywhere). I've also never seen the scoopable frozen foods for quick, 10-minute prep dinners. Living north of the city on the orange line and working downtown, I actually think it's likely I'll be coming here at least a couple times after work to grab affordable bites to make for dinner (the Mediterranean vegetable medley was delicious!).

HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
HOC_StarMarket Opening Day by Derek Shooster, on Flickr
 
North Shore said:
Because we have no real equivalent to a Tesco Express or Sainsbury's Local here - scaled down versions of supermarkets with prices that are equivalent to what you'd pay at the big store. Just got back from a trip to the UK and the model over there work incredibly well, but we don't have the same thing as a Stop & Shop Express or a Star Local. Yes, we have 7-11s and Richdales, but they aren't the same.
Click to expand...
I'd kill for a Sainsburys Local/Coop Food/Tesco Express in Boston. Had one just up the road from me in London and one within a 10 minute walk of where I lived in the North of England, the convienience combined with the still low grocery store prices is unbeatable. In Boston it's either, full size massive grocery store or small expensive convienience store. For some reason the name brand grocery stores have never shown much interest in small, high street format stores...
 
HelloBostonHi said:
I'd kill for a Sainsburys Local/Coop Food/Tesco Express in Boston. Had one just up the road from me in London and one within a 10 minute walk of where I lived in the North of England, the convienience combined with the still low grocery store prices is unbeatable. In Boston it's either, full size massive grocery store or small expensive convienience store. For some reason the name brand grocery stores have never shown much interest in small, high street format stores...
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Amazon is not done in the grocery business just because they bought Whole Foods -- that for them was just a workbench and lab -- when Amazon is ready they will role out the complete package -- then woe to most everyone else in the grocery business except Walmart
 
Obviously, more people will visit the supermarket.....
The 4 (yep, there are 4) resident towers in the area will (eventually) get done and reach full occupancy. Things are happening for the area. The supermarket will, one day be so crowded, people will be thrilled, myself included (great joy, and about to burst just thinking it).


*2 resident towers near the Garden: Alcott/G Garage & Hub residential.
+2 resident towers at the Congress Garage site.
 
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stick n move said:
That was a good idea to put a convenience store section at ground level and the grocery store downstairs. The convenient food options in the convenient spot, and grocery downstairs where youll spend more time.

Where is the “hub hall” going to be? Its the food hall with lots of local options thats coming soon, I havent been able to figure out where exactly its going to go.

Hub-Hall-rendering.jpg

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/2019/09/16/hub-hall-food-vendors-monicas-mikes-sullivans/
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Here:
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Thank you. The food hall is going to be a massive draw with Sullivans bringing a location over here from Castle Island, Apizza from New Haven, Monicas Mercato, Mikes pasty and 14 more. This along with a separate Guy Fieri restaurant here as well.

Theyre bringing over the local heavy hitters and not just franchise options which is awesome and really going to make this a top destination for dining local. It sounds like everything that should have been at Quincy Market will actually be over here. This is going to really liven up the area and make this a must stop destination for everybody local and visiting that wants some great food. Cant wait! This is even better than I had anticipated.

Edit: Also looks like the movie theater and music venues will be on the second floors of both podiums giving them lots of space. Nice.
 
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Where's the "Giant" Music Venue which has been promoted for the Hub on Causeway going to be located?
Accommodating up to 2000 guests, almost 1500 of which are in the music hall, the multiple levels offer every guest the best view in the house, fully elevating your nightlife and live music hall experience. --- I don't see 2000 people inside the space marked Music Venue -- unless there are parts not shown on that plan
 
The pic above only shows the first floor and entrance, the bulk of it is on the 2nd floor.

Heres the original renders:

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Some more that hadnt been posted that show the 2nd floor:

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The entirety of everything included in this development is PHENOMENAL from the food hall to movie theater to garden expansion..grocery store, transit tunnel...and on and on
 
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Overall, really happy with what this development contributes.

Still have the following lingering questions:
  • Is the back of the food hall going to be open to the North Station concourse?
  • Are they going to renovate the North Station concourse / train waiting areas?
  • Are they going to put up better MBTA signage in the new areas (including tunnel) - that stuff looks rather cheap/temporary
  • ...and importantly: how are we gonna get some mature trees back at Portal Park after they ripped many of them out?
 
Someday in the future you will here, "let's go over to North Station for dinner, there's a food hall and some really awesome restaurants, too".

Something that has never been said before ever in Boston.
 
Czervik.Construction said:
Someday in the future you will here, "let's go over to North Station for dinner, there's a food hall and some really awesome restaurants, too".

Something that has never been said before ever in Boston.
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And I'll be dead before you hear "let's go over to Penn Station for dinner, there's a food hall and some really awesome restaurants, too" in New York.
 
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