This upscale food hall is finally opening in a historic Miami building. Here’s a look

When is a food hall not merely a food hall?

When it’s Julia & Henry’s.

The long-awaited dining and entertainment destination in the historic downtown Miami Walgreens building opens June 3 with 26 nationally and internationally famous food and drink vendors, ventanitas, an underground retro sound room and speakeasy lounge and eventually a music incubator with recording studios, communal work spaces and a tattoo parlor.

The crown jewel of the development will be on the roof: Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura, the chef behind the famous Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, which earned three Michelin stars. Bottura’s new Miami restaurant, a second location of his one-star Michelin restaurant Torno Subito in Dubai, is scheduled to open later this year.

Andrea Petersen, CEO of King Goose Hospitality, which has been operating the project, believes that the growing downtown development and the fact that Flagler Street will close for traffic on weekends will help draw pedestrians, locals and tourists alike.

A view from the second floor wine tower at Julia & Henry’s food hall. The Louis Collection

“The whole idea is to see the best Miami has to offer in an accessible way,” she said. “People talk about the rebirth of downtown, and that’s the whole point, to honor the history of this building and bring it back to its original purpose as a gathering place.”

History lies in Julia & Henry’s very foundations (it’s named for Miami founder Julia Tuttle and industrialist and developer Henry Flagler). Constructed in 1936, the building rose as a symbol of confidence during the Great Depression, showing financial investment and luring customers with an 88-foot soda fountain.

Julia & Henry’s won’t have a soda fountain, of course, but it will have a giant wine tower rising through the three-story food hall. The tower, home to the natural wine bar La Epoca, wraps around an elevator that takes you to explore each floor. The name La Epoca also evokes the past: the building was owned until 2018 by the Alonso family, who operated it as La Epoca, a retail store that was once the third largest department store in Havana until the government confiscated it.

Tacotomia by Karla Hoyos at Julia & Miami food hall. Each vendor’s counter is designed in a unique way. The Louis Collection

Here are some of the food vendors you’ll find:

Michelle Bernstein: The James Beard Award winner is opening Michy’s Chicken Shack, which features fried (and unfried) chicken, and Luncheria, a lunch spot with a ventanita where you can grab a cafecito to go from the street.

Yann Couvreur: A top pastry chef from France will serve pastries.

Renzo Garibaldi: The chef whose Osso has been on Latin America’s 50 Best list for six straight years will serve premium meats and barbecue.

Karla Hoyos: The first Latina chef de cuisine at the Bazaar by José Andrés will offer her take on tacos with Tacotomia. Expect heirloom corn torillas and heirloom beans along with other southern Mexican fare.

Tomas Kalika: This South American chef is debuting his first U.S. restaurant, Mensch, a casual twist on his upscale Mishiguene. Mensch offers Mediterranean fare.

José Mendin: The creator of Pubbelly Sushi and Casa Isola (and many other Miami favorites) also has two concepts at the food hall: June, which serves gourmet wagyu burgers and HitchiHaika, which serves gyoza (dumplings), with a wide variety of fillings (roasted pork, carbonara, pastrami and sauerkraut among them).

Xarles Thomson: The Peruvian-born chef will have three concepts at the food hall: the ceviche spot J Wong; Rozu, which serves poké and Sankuay, which serves chifa.

Mensch from South American chef Tomas Kalika will serve Mediterranean food at Julia & Henry’s. The Louis Collection

Diners will also find La Latina, a Venezuelan arepa spot that also has a ventanita, plus a pared-down version of Palmar, the famous upscale Chinese restaurant from Wynwood.

You can even buy a mini Key lime pie from a vending machine, courtesy of Fookem’s Fabulous, run by Coconut Grove’s Josh Abril, who used to sell pies from his front yard. Naturally, once you’ve paid for it, your dessert comes out of an opening marked “pie hole.”

José Mendin praised the innovative design of the food hall, which features uniquely different booths.

“I have never been in a food hall before, but it’s fun,” he said. “It’s a different experience for me. When I got approached about coming in and saw the lineup of chefs and where the place is, I got really excited. I started talking to my partners, and we wanted to create a burger place. When you create a food hall, the curators have to have certain types of food, and burgers are one of the things you need. So it’s my first burger place.”

Karla Hoyos, who has traveled the world feeding refugees and others in need with World Central Kitchen, said the food hall is a perfect place to start her first restaurant.

“For a small business owner like me, it’s a great opportunity,” she said. “I think the freedom they’re giving each concept to be themselves is important. I want to represent the way I eat the Mexican food. Southern Mexico is a lot different than the north, but they have been respectful of my concept.”

The Lasseter, a third floor cocktail bar at Julia & Henry’s in downtown Miami. The Louis Collection

Another old favorite making an appearance is the late, lamented BoxElder Craft Beer Market on the second floor, which is (not surprisingly) all about craft beer. Up on the third floor, you’ll find the funky Lasseter lounge, named after the first bar in Miami, where you can order craft cocktails and listen to a DJ (who’s working in the bathroom, so remember that next time you think your job is hard).

And if it’s late-night vinyl that you want to appreciate, head underground to Jolene’s, the dark and hip speakeasy listening bar from Bar Lab, creators of Broken Shaker (and yes — it’s named for the Dolly Parton song). It has its own street entry, though you can access it through the building, and it also offers karaoke rooms you can rent.

Daniel Peña Giraldi of Stambul Development, which bought and redeveloped the building, views Julia & Henry’s as an all-day (and if you want, all night) destination.

“Arrive in the morning, grab breakfast on the go at the outdoor windows that open early,” he said. “Come back for lunch, get some work done in a workspace. Come back with friends for happy hour. Listen to local musicians rehearsing in the recording studios. Have dinner at the rooftop restaurant, serving up cuisine prepared by a Michelin starred chef. Go to Jolene ‘til 4 a.m., then have some arepas. It’s almost a 24-hour venue.”

Julia & Henry’s

Where: 200 E. Flagler St., Miami

Opening: June 3

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Ventanita hours vary. Happy hour 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday

More information: juliaandhenrys.com