MONA Fresh Italian Food, the concept from Sidney Degaine that launched in 2018 in the Energy Corridor and received high marks from Houstonia, will open its second location at Understory, the food hall going into Capitol Tower and set to open later in 2019. MONA will have 525 square feet of space, and is the perfect concept to be part of a food hall. Essentially, guests get in line and order a pasta bowl like they'd order a Subway sandwich. Only the pasta here is handmade by Degaine, and it's outstanding.

“We believe Understory at Capitol Tower is the perfect combination of architecture and location for MONA to be even more successful,” said Degaine. “MONA’s concept is developed to provide high quality and healthy food with quick service within a perfect time frame for the business crowd.”

Previously on our Understory check-in, we learned that The Original Ninfa's on Navigation was bringing its fast-casual spinoff Mama Ninfa's Tacos y Tortas to the building. Also coming in: East Hampton Sandwich Co. and Boomtown Coffee.

Understory promises a morning to night high-level culinary, retail, and cultural experience that includes high-speed WiFi, mobile charging stations, games, and more. It'll be accessible both from street level and in the downtown underground tunnel network.