Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

DZH22 said:
I counted around 80 people in that picture. Seems pretty busy to me.
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I was being a little sarcastic in my post, because I am still kind of upset by the bait and switch from the original renderings. (I won't even mention the RFP requirement for an observation deck.) However, you are correct. It was lunch time, and the food locations were quite busy. There are several communal tables, and I sat down to eat my Greek Salad at one of them. I heard a couple of 20-somethings say the location was so cute and cool. (I'm assuming maybe they work in the building?) As more food places open up, I'm sure it will be quite busy and well-used. I just wish it had the original arches they showed in the first rendering. It's a perfectly fine space that will be well-used. However, it's a pale implementation of what was originally proposed and got me excited.

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Walked through the other morning. The thing that struck me most was just how small it is, not so grand in the end. It's a lobby with some food, seats, and smattering of unusable space. Somehow simultaneously smaller and with more stuff than 100 Fed. It should give some relief to the notoriously overcrowded (at noon) High Street Place.

Speaking of which - I don't dislike the trend of indoor food courts, but I find it sort of baffling. So many fancy new ones keep opening and old ones like the Corner Mall don't seem to have have gained any traction at all. It wouldn't take much capital at all to freshen that place up a bit. It's already very close to being "retro cool." I think a beer license, some neon lights, and an 80's playlist would turn that place around in a second.
 
I think that 2nd level atrium would be a cool spot to grab lunch assuming it will be open to the public.
 
citydweller said:
I think that 2nd level atrium would be a cool spot to grab lunch assuming it will be open to the public.
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Looks like there are more people there now, but none of it certainly felt public when I went through a few weeks ago. I assumed the second floor and pretty much anything other than the tall hallway were off limits for me.

Now that I'm looking though, I think the second level might be sit-down restaurants? Might be wrong. Might bring more energy though.
 
Looking at the pic above the second floor is closed off with curtains right now, but Id imagine they should be removed soon when theyre finished wrapping up the final touches.
 
fattony said:
Walked through the other morning. The thing that struck me most was just how small it is, not so grand in the end. It's a lobby with some food, seats, and smattering of unusable space. Somehow simultaneously smaller and with more stuff than 100 Fed. It should give some relief to the notoriously overcrowded (at noon) High Street Place.

Speaking of which - I don't dislike the trend of indoor food courts, but I find it sort of baffling. So many fancy new ones keep opening and old ones like the Corner Mall don't seem to have have gained any traction at all. It wouldn't take much capital at all to freshen that place up a bit. It's already very close to being "retro cool." I think a beer license, some neon lights, and an 80's playlist would turn that place around in a second.
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As "baffling" as you may find it, in terms of realized product, for the Boston market, said trend is very very modest. Three legit food halls have opened in nine years, that I'm aware of: the Fenway one, High Street Place, Boston Public Market.

EDIT: thanks to those below who pointed-out additional food halls that are planned... it will be interesting to see if they all come to fruition. I estimate a really high-end one would cost at least $50 million to build-out.

[Yes, the one at Winthrop Center is styled a "food hall," but it has all of four kiosks. The one at 100 Federal has all of three kiosks. Do you feel three-to-four kiosks constitutes a legit "food hall"? I don't.]

And of course, there's a highly obvious reason the trend is so very modest: its monstrously expensive to develop, curate, and operate these food halls. The economics only work if you have a constant dependable stream of affluent students, office workers, tourists, etc., in sufficient quantity. In the wake of the pandemic, there are exactly ZERO on the drawing board for the metro Boston market, that I'm aware of. Thus also an ephemeral trend.

Meanwhile, the notion that the Corner Mall food court hasn't "gained any traction" is ridiculous. It's packed all the time. It's been able to retain a dozen restaurants, post-COVID. What on earth could you possibly be talking about?

You admit that it's very close to being "retro cool." Given that fortunate emergence, combined with the fact its always packed--why would anyone bother to "freshen it up a bit"? It provides a good service to people who perhaps can't afford the swanker options at High Street Place or Fenway, etc. The only thing that needs to be "turned around" is your poorly-masked class prejudice, as best I can judge...
 
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dirtywater said:
The food court at the Hub on Causeway also opened during that period.
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Eataly at the Pru is definitely a food hall (plus food market), and it also opened in that period

DBM said:
In the wake of the pandemic, there are exactly ZERO on the drawing board for the metro Boston market, that I'm aware of. Thus also an ephemeral trend.
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Well, since we're talking metro Boston, there are also three (each at > 10,000 sq ft) in the development pipeline in Cambridge:
1) Ground floor of new Boston Properties' Google Bldg. at Kendall Center:
2) Ground floor of 290 Main St:
Scroll to: "The 11,100 SF space at the base of 290 Main Street..."​
3) First Street Garage open market
​
All of this said, your point is well taken that the above poster seemed unaware of the Corner Mall's actual popularity/utilization when they made their point. A very interesting hypothesis (that I wish we could test) would be how popular would more budget friendly food hall options be if a new one were developed these days? (It might be quite popular) What's likely limiting it happening is the huge up-front costs of fit-out in a greenfield space, as opposed to the operating costs and operating revenues that could be sustained if one got over the hump of being developed.
 
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DBM said:
You admit that it's very close to being "retro cool." Given that fortunate emergence, combined with the fact its always packed--why would anyone bother to "freshen it up a bit"? It provides a good service to people who perhaps can't afford the swanker options at High Street Place or Fenway, etc. The only thing that needs to be "turned around" is your poorly-masked class prejudice, as best I can judge...
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A place can have good value, but it still needs to be clean, bright, and welcoming. There is nothing wrong with a little refresh, no matter if it's a McDonalds or the Four Seasons. Remember Copley Place? It was very 1980's polished stone and brass. It received a much-needed refresh not too long ago.
 
I'll take my lumps for being unaware the Corner Mall is well patronized. It is possible I haven't been in there since the darker days of the pandemic. I haven't been back though because my last impression was pretty bad. I'll have to check it out again soon. No class prejudice intended... :rolleyes:

Second, I'm grateful for everyone else who helped point out the presence of more than 3 food halls and the plans for more in the pipeline.

Finally, sorry for the derailment.
 
Ha, that's exactly right. I went through it the other day as well. It's a great lobby - but absolutely nothing more. There are 4-5 places to get food, but they have highly limited hours (like 9am to 4pm) - so other than lunch for building workers and others in a tight radius nearby, even those spots are pretty useless.
 
itchy said:
Ha, that's exactly right. I went through it the other day as well. It's a great lobby - but absolutely nothing more. There are 4-5 places to get food, but they have highly limited hours (like 9am to 4pm) - so other than lunch for building workers and others in a tight radius nearby, even those spots are pretty useless.
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Boston, Home of the Bunt.
 
itchy said:
Ha, that's exactly right. I went through it the other day as well. It's a great lobby - but absolutely nothing more. There are 4-5 places to get food, but they have highly limited hours (like 9am to 4pm) - so other than lunch for building workers and others in a tight radius nearby, even those spots are pretty useless.
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I also walked through here for the first time last week... It was completely dead and far less interesting of a space than the lobbies at 75 State Street or International Place. Had that feeling I get in the Seaport of "not quite done" in that it was built out but there were no people. Not a welcoming place to linger, either.
 
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