UPDATE (10 a.m. Thursday): From Matt Damborsky, executive vice president for Skanska USA Commercial Development: “We are pleased to announce that our first tastemakers, Flip ‘n Patties and Mona Fresh Italian Food, are now open in Understory at our premier Bank of America Tower development. We expect Understory’s full range of dynamic chef-driven concepts to open in July and look forward to exploring additional retail opportunities for this vibrant community hub in the coming months.”

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Almost exactly one year ago, we published this story about all the food halls coming to or already operating in downtown Houston. At the time we could just visit Conservatory, but we were excited about Bravery Chef Hall, Finn Hall, Lyric Market's hall, and "Food Hall at Capitol Tower," now known as Understory. They were coming! Very soon!

We're still waiting. While Finn Hall opened in early 2019, Bravery isn't quite there yet and Lyric is...well...it has a website.

As of Monday, Understory wasn't open, but as of today, at least one of its food vendors is operating. According to Understory's Instagram, Filipino burger spot Flip 'n Patties has the green light, open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays (with expanded hours to come). 

 

 

 

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Opening Alert 🎉 Understory tastemaker @flipnpatties is now open! Savor their signature Filipino-inspired gourmet burgers and hand-cut, double fried French fries from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. on weekdays (the hours will expand in the months to come) 🍔 ⁣ ⁣ In 2012, equipped with the knowledge passed on by their Filipino family—grandmas, uncles, moms—cousins Don and Michael Jante set out to take Houston diners on a culinary journey, where vibrant flavors from the Philippines and familiar American dishes interlace. Swipe left for a peek at an @eater video that captures the mouth-watering, sizzling results. Originally a food truck, Flip n’ Patties has grown into a brick and mortar location on North Eldridge, and its new home at Understory. ⁣ #understoryhtx #exploringunderstory #houstonfoodie #houstoneats #houstontx #visithouston #downtownhouston #dthtx #eater #eaterhouston #flipnpatties

A post shared by Understory (@understoryhtx) on Jun 25, 2019 at 10:48am PDT

This is just the beginning of the anticipated food hall at Bank of America Tower (800 Capitol St.), which will also have locations of Mona Fresh Italian Food, Boomtown Coffee, East Hampton Sandwich Co., Seaside Poke, and the new Mama Ninfa's Tacos y Tortas. Those are probably pretty close to opening, as well. Keep your eyes peeled on Understory.

As for the other food halls, well, our eyes are on them, too.