Heavenly News
Austin's anticipated public marketplace announces 2 more restaurants and new opening date
They say good things come to those who wait, and Austin's newest food hall seems to be no exception. St. Elmo Public Market, the ambitious new development currently underway in South Austin, announced it's adding two more vendors to its canon of restaurants and also revealed a new projected opening timeline.
Joining the marketplace will be Greater Goods Coffee Co. and the first brick-and-mortar location of Fire Dance Pizza.
St. Elmo will be the third location for Austin-based Greater Goods. Leading the design of its architectural and interior design is Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, the same firm who designed the company's East Sixth Street flagship.
Fire Dance Pizza, owned by husband-and-wife team Alex Webster and Shannon Wiener, has long been a farmers market favorite, thanks in part to its signature sourdough crust. The St. Elmo shop will offer wood-fired pizzas and, says Wiener, a chance for the brand to evolve to the next level.
"We are excited to develop a meaningful connection with the Austin community while making the best naturally fermented pizza we can,” said Wiener in a release.
Greater Goods and Fire Dance join the previously announced Mignette, a new bakery and all-day eatery from Olamaie executive chef Michael Fojtasek; Salt & Time; Texas Hill Country Olive Oil; a new location of Family Business Beer Co.; and a new concept from the owners of Lick Honest Ice Cream.
Together, this group of locally owned concepts will help anchor the 40,000-square-foot space, which is currently under construction at 4329 S. Congress Ave. Designed to rival Seattle's Pike Place or London's Borough Market, the indoor-outdoor St. Elmo is actually just one part of a massive 12-acre development that includes 108,000 square feet of creative office space, 385 apartment units, and a boutique hotel.
Just when it will open, however, is still a bit vague. Original opening projections of 2018 and 2019 have passed, but a release does say it should open this year. Though tenants should get access to the building this spring, each one must complete their own build-out, so a rep hedges that the end of 2020 is a more likely target date.
“St. Elmo Public Market is a massive undertaking, and we understand that the public is eager for this project to progress," said Brandon Bolin, developer of St. Elmo Public Market, in the release. "Once complete, the market will include approximately 25 merchants in owner-operator capacities. We’ve painstakingly taken the past two years to create a space for like-minded tenants and to create a market for people to gather, shop, and dine."
