Long story short: It’s “opening soon”.
Definitely “after CNY,” the people down there say, “probably mid-February,” they say, “definitely before early March, probably.”
We’re used to this kind of ambiguity when it comes to the hole in the ground everyone was hailing as the new YKL about six months ago. Yesterday we went down there, notebooks in hand, to get some more concrete info. Here’s what we managed to scratch up at Found 158.
The big news is Homeslice pizza is open today at 5pm. As we mentioned in this wire post, they're opening for the evenings with an abridged menu from now until January 26 and then opening in earnest from February 4 or so. This is them painting the door last night. We hope it's going to be dry by 5pm today! You're looking at New York-style greasy comfort pizza from them. 6 options for pies and slices now with more on the way.
Seafood shop Hooked and mezcal/taco place El Santo, both brought to you by The Camel empire, look like they just need a solid scrubbing and they’ll be ready to open. Which they have been threatening to do for just about every weekend so far in 2017. They say that soon as they get their stuff in order "hopefully middle of next week", the first thing they'll do is set up a Bull & Claw pop-up after the surprise shut-down of the Xikang Lu location. Expect a combination of Hooked's new menu and Bull & Claw classics, as well as Bull & Claw brunches every weekend.
The lads from Xixi Bistro are struggling a little bit to get modern Italian trattoria osteria concept Mito's interior in place. They were joking that they were the first to start construction but it’s looking like they might be the last to open their doors. Alas! We'll have to wait a bit longer for aged steaks.
Turkish restaurant/bar Pera is billing itself as “Pasha 2.” Apart from JZ Club and Homeslice, they were the only place that looked like they could be open tomorrow. Even so, they’re still aiming for that “mid-February” line we hear bandied about. There were some murmurs about no one being eager to be the first to open in case they’re also the first to eff up. Good thing Homeslice took that bullet!
Blackstone Magic Bar was lacking the wall curtains that’ll really pull the room together when we stuck our head in but their little amphitheater and bar area are coming along. It was a bit smaller than we expected, unless our senses were deceived, which, y’know, “magic bar,” could have been the case.
French bistro/lounge SEL was similarly lacking wall-trappings, but Le Cordon Bleu-educated founder Michelle Li is confident they’ll be ready after CNY. They were already crushing the ice, testing out the blenders, bustling about their open kitchen at the back, and they said someone would be along to paint the wall murals shortly. Welcome, welcome.
Genesis cocktail lounge, the new incarnation of the Zizhong Lu location was still hidden behind a tatty tarpaulin, but if you peek through, you’re greeted with a long and well-stocked bar. The place was empty, but the other tenants at Found 158 said there’d already been a couple of private events there.
Vietnamese eatery Cyclo looks to be opening up next to Mito, though there wasn’t much going on there when we pressed our grubby noses against the window. Not even a sign up yet, but we’re psyched about getting some varied cuisine down there.
Meanwhile, Cafe Des Stagieres have gotten up their Vedett sign! Priorities. The place also looks like it needs a good solid polishing, but they've just hooked up the beer machinery and you know what to expect here. We'll just say they've got a nice spot.
More sign talk, Zapfler’s Craft Brewery has their name stenciled onto the bare concrete, but the inside of the shop is still a long ways from being a place to enjoy German beer. Needs a bit of that famous German efficiency maybe.
Apart from these location, we’ve also heard that there’s a fancy Japanese BBQ place opening up, a massive 800sqm hotpot shop hidden in the bowels of the complex, as well as a branch for 2-in-1 Burger. Beyond that, it’s a mystery.
Finally, a note on why it’s been taking so long; since it’s technically a basement area with limited ways of getting out, there are way more safety regulations. In addition to that, it’s right across the street from Huangpu District’s Administration and Supervision Bureau. Officials could conduct a spot-check every day on their way to the office for a giggle if they wanted to. So the tenants of Found 158 say they’re being extra careful with their licenses, permissions and paperwork.
Even so... big plans for the area. Should be something to check out when it's finally going on in earnest.
Found 158, formerly Da Tong Mill, is at 158 Julu Lu.
