The Jones On Main: Office Building At 708/712 Main St.

[DrLan34]

Updated downtown development map.

 

https://www.downtownhouston.org/media/uploads/attachments/2019-07-29/190729_Development_Map__Renders_11X17.pdf 

[DrLan34]

On 7/30/2019 at 8:52 AM, CrockpotandGravel said:

Good find but shouldn't this go in another thread? I don't see how or why this belongs here.

 

Yes, it definitely should! I don’t know how it ended up in this thread. My mistake. 

 

[Highrise Tower]

 

[Nole23]

Finn Hall is closed until further notice due to maintenance issues 😳

 

 

[mollusk]

 

1 hour ago, Nole23 said:

Finn Hall is closed until further notice due to maintenance issues 😳

 

 

 

I'm glad we've got Understory to fall back on. 

 

According to their web site, they'll be back open during normal hours tomorrow. 

[Highrise Tower]

[mollusk]

That's looking better.

 

Originally the wall signage (at least what could be seen on the passage from Pennzoil to Esperson) was stick on cutouts.  Some of it didn't even make it to the first day of the soft opening.

[Highrise Tower]

[CrockpotandGravel]

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to recover any of my contributions in this thread after my account and all its content were deleted in "error" by a mod. I'm kind of bummed about that because looking back at the build out,  proposed plans, news, etc gives a great overview to the total evolution of this building.

Regardless, here's old news about Mala Sichuan Bistro closing its stall at Finn Hall last month.



From CultureMap:

 

Downtown food hall Finn Hall has lost its second opening tenant. Shortly after the venue welcomed Pizza Zquare to replace the shuttered Mr. Nice Pie, comes news that acclaimed Chinese restaurant Mala Sichuan has closed.
 

Mala Sichuan has earned a number of awards, including a James Beard Award Best Chef: Southwest finalist nomination for chef Jianyun Ye. The restaurant's other locations — the original in Chinatown, its expansion in Montrose, and a recently opened outpost in Katy Asian Town — all remain open. 
 

In response to CultureMap's request for comment, a representative provided the following statements from Finn Hall's management and from Mala Sichuan.
 

“We are happy to have had the Mala Sichuan team as part of our inaugural group of operators at Finn Hall and wish them continued success with their restaurants," Finn Hall's owners stated. "We look forward to welcoming a new operator soon and bringing a new concept to Downtown Houston.”
 

Mala's statement is as follows: “Due to numerous business obligations outside of Finn Hall, we made the difficult decision to close our Finn Hall operation. We very much appreciate the opportunity to have operated at Finn Hall over the past year and bring Mala Sichuan to downtown Houston.”
 

In addition to Mala and Pizza Zquare, Finn Hall's tenants include Dish Society, Goode Co. Taqueria, Vietnamese restaurant Sit Lo, Korean restaurant Yong, Craft Burger, seafood restaurant Low Tide, and Mediterranean restaurant Oddball Eats. It also has a coffee bar from Amaya Roasting and a cocktail bar.


http://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/10-04-19-mala-sichuan-chinese-restaurant-downtown-food-hall-finn-hall-closed-shuttered/

 

[CrockpotandGravel]

More on food hall Finn Hall inside the Jones on Main, 712 Main St in downtown Houston.


Eater Houston reported yesterday Oz Rey is no longer involved as the operator of Finn Hall. Taking over operating duties is Midway.

Finn Hall closed for a few days last week and over the weekend for "remodeling." Operations were to resume yesterday.




From Eater Houston yesterday:



Finn Hall will re-open Monday after changing operators over the weekend

On Friday, Finn Hall closed its doors for the weekend as the Downtown food hall made a few “technology-related updates.” Those updates were a part of major operational changes at Finn Hall, with Jones on Main landlord Midway taking over day-to-day operations of the food hall. A spokesperson for Midway said in a statement that it expects “little to no effect on daily operation for customers,” but that “enhancements” are coming in the next few months. Stay tuned for updates on this situation as it unfolds.


https://houston.eater.com/2019/11/4/20947259/tonkotsu-ramen-bar-open-vintage-marketplace-black-rock-coffee-houston-opening-a-fine-line-screening

 

[CrockpotandGravel]

More on food hall Finn Hall inside the Jones on Main, 712 Main St in downtown Houston.



Finn Hall was scheduled to resume services yesterday after closing for several days to remodel.

But it's possible Finn Hall may be closed permanently. There are reports online about the disappearance  of Finn Hall's social media pages (Facebook and Twitter) and website:


http://www.finnhallhtx.com

https://www.facebook.com/finnhallhtx/

https://twitter.com/finnhallhtx



Their Instagram is still online

https://www.instagram.com/finnhallhtx/



Reports wondering about the fate of Finn Hall:


After being inexplicably closed several days last week, several stalls at Finn Hall including one that is supposed to be open for breakfast are dark and unmanned.
https://twitter.com/Just_StopPlease/status/1191726408441237504


https://old.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/ds06md/finn_hall_collapsing/




Maybe they are closed for good. I saw 2 posts on Instagram Story of people dining there yesterday and  Amaya Coffee or Amaya Roasting posted yesterday. So, I don't know.

It's also possible since there was a change in operators, that a new name and maybe retooling of the food hall is coming.

I don't think Midway would let the space fold. I think it will remain a food hall and will reopen under a new name. But I could be wrong.

 

 

Edited November 5, 2019 by CrockpotandGravel

[kbates2]

I walked by it yesterday and there were people eating inside and dish society cooking that I could see from the sidewalk.

[CrockpotandGravel]

1 minute ago, kbates2 said:

I walked by it yesterday and there were people eating inside and dish society cooking that I could see from the sidewalk.

Yeah. I posted above that there a few posts in my Instagram feed from people dining there yesterday. There was also a post from Amaya Coffee. So, Finn Hall did reopen yesterday.

But its halls are darken again today, according to several eyewitness accounts. 

This summer, Finn Hall closed temporarily and later reopened. But I wonder if there are other other changes involved or coming with Midway taking the lead on operations.

Otherwise, it's strange that the website and all other social media, with the exception of Instagram,  are gone.

I don't know if Oz Rey owned the rights to the name Finn Hall or not. If so, it's possible the website is offline and could be transferring to a new domain and server. And the Facebook page may be hidden from public view while a new name is being decided and the page reopened with the new vanity url.


I don't know. It's all strange.



 

[CrockpotandGravel]

Finn Hall is open.


From a comment on Reddit Houston:

 I just called Dish Society inside Finn Hall. They are open and serving customers.

https://old.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/ds06md/finn_hall_collapsing/f6mb6az/



As to why the website and two of their three social media are either gone or not visible to the public, I don't know. I think Midway is retooling the food hall: from a possible new name, changes to make the hall and service more efficient (and customer friendly), and other adjustments.

 

[kbates2]

Finn does have the worst food of all of the downtown halls IMO.  They could retool quite a bit.  I liked Mala but they are gone right?  Yong is good.  

[nate4l1f3]

I absolutely love this space. It’s hard to imagine it struggling or even needing a makeover of sorts. 

[Highrise Tower]

I had exclusive access to the original bank vault

 

Edit: I’ll post pictures later 

[Nate99]

FWIW, it looks like they are replacing the common order system that all of the stalls shared. Yong was running off of an iPad and a Square dongle for credit cards today. 

 

That might have put the place out of commission when the old system was shut down. 

[Highrise Tower]

Here's the bank vault in the basement. I emptied the contents in order for the bank to transfer the space to Hines.

 

 

 

 

[Highrise Tower]

Expensive renovation.

[Highrise Tower]

JOM Management Office.

[nate4l1f3]

Finn Hall street dinning?

 

[BeerNut]

Might as well close off through traffic on Main from the Ion to Commerce St.

[j_cuevas713]

On 11/10/2021 at 8:37 PM, BeerNut said:

Might as well close off through traffic on Main from the Ion to Commerce St.

It's def heading that direction. It looks like the city is slowly implementing that plan while allowing people to get used to the changes. 

[Triton]

This should improve traffic in the area. Think about it, you only need a red light when the light rail train is coming through or if a pedestrian signals for one. If it's green every other time, this may improve wait times in the area.

[nate4l1f3]

It’s really sad to see the food hall in its current state. The place was buzzing when it first opened now’s there’s empty stalls and zero energy in the place. 

[BeerNut]

6 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

It’s really sad to see the food hall in its current state. The place was buzzing when it first opened now’s there’s empty stalls and zero energy in the place. 

I'm sure it's COVID related.  Downtown pedestrian traffic is still way down.  My company keeps pushing back their return to office.

[Texasota]

I dont think the vendors have ever been consistently good enough. COVID doesn't help, but at the end of the day they need to actually serve good, reasonably priced food.

[j_cuevas713]

18 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

It’s really sad to see the food hall in its current state. The place was buzzing when it first opened now’s there’s empty stalls and zero energy in the place. 

It is but this is all Covid related. Many of those businesses are cutting their hours big time. Finn Hall and Understory both get most of their business M-F at the moment. Bravery seems to be steady with customers and Lyric Hall is building out at the moment so the demand is still there. Downtown in general has way too much momentum at the moment for places like this to stay in this current state. 

[IntheKnowHouston]

Recent posts about Finn Hall found in another thread. Finn Hall is the food hall at 712 Main St inside the Jones on Main.

 

On 7/6/2022 at 2:22 PM, nate4l1f3 said:

Do you have a sense of how Finn Hall is looking lately? I really want that place to succeed. 

 

On 7/6/2022 at 6:28 PM, editor said:

Not great.  I've been there, or through there, about five times in the last couple of months, because I have business with Chase.  Foot traffic has been very light.  And I think the really good chicken joint closed.  Or at least it wasn't open the last time I went.

The big problem with Finn, as someone who lives down the street, is that you never know when it's open, so you don't bother to go.  Sure, the food court, itself, has regular hours.  But each vendor within is allowed to set their own, lesser hours.  So what's the point of going, if it's safe to assume that half of the options are going to be closed?

In large retail spaces, like malls, it's not uncommon for the owner to require minimum operating hours of its stores.  Finn should do this.

Also, it's not open on weekends.  Every other bar and restaurant on Main Street can be packed after a Saturday Astros game, but Finn is closed.  It makes the street look bad.  It makes Finn look unreliable.  It makes the restaurants inside look amateur.  If you're a restaurant on Main Street that's not open on weekends, you're not a business.  You're a hobby.

I think I'm not going to try with Finn anymore.  If it can't respect the neighborhood enough to be open on weekends, then why would I give it any of my money?  There are other options. 

 

On 7/6/2022 at 9:33 PM, nate4l1f3 said:

I was upset as well when I was down there on a weekend and it was closed!

 

On 7/8/2022 at 3:14 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

They seem fine, they're just running on a different schedule at the moment. As things continue to pick up, places will change their hours. It's just hard to recover financially in the service industry. You have to slowly get back in the green.