After closing two local restaurants and about 14 others around the country as a result of a bankruptcy reorganization, Uno Restaurant Holdings is opening a new eatery on Summer Street in Boston, but it’s not a concept that the company is known for – yet.
Better known for its Uno Chicago Grill full-service restaurants, the company is opening a marketplace-style eatery called Uno Due Go in the 3,400-square-foot space at the corner of Summer and Arch Streets at the end of September.
Uno has a five-year lease with multiple options from landlord Ronald Druker for the "fast-casual" concept that features different stations where patrons will order, instead of waiting in line cafeteria-style. There will be deep dish and flatbread pizzas so people will know they’re at an Uno establishment, but also paninis, salads and a yogurt bar. Employees will be baking muffins based on cocktails available at Uno restaurants (think cranberry pomegranate alongside mint chocolate Ghiradelli muffins).
"It’s a branch of Uno, so they’re not really related in regards with what happened with the full-service ones," said James Strobino, senior vice president of new concept development for Uno Restaurant Holdings.
This is the first urban location for Uno Due Go, which also operates in the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and two colleges in the Midwest. Strobino was undaunted by the gaping hole in the ground around the corner at the former Filene’s site in Downtown Crossing.
"It’s an iconic location right in the center of everything downtown," Strobino told Banker & Tradesman. "It’s one of locations that you come upon very rarely. It’s a mix of retail and transit and office, all in one spot. It’s busy all the time, and when eventually something happens at Filene’s, we feel like we’ll already be at the 50-yard line."
This is the first of this concept Uno has done in Boston, but they’re hoping to open more in the suburbs, though Strobino could not say where. The idea is an easy place to pick up food and go, or stay and eat in one of the 95 seats. The eatery will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from about 10 a.m. to late afternoon on Saturdays.
