Detroit-Style Pizza & Farmer's Fridge Salads Head To Revival Food Hall [Updated]

Management revealed two more food vendors for the upcoming Revival Food Hall inside the National. That's the historic Daniel Burnham-designed building being refurbished at Clark and Adams streets. While there's plenty of dust from construction crews, the gang from 16" On Center (Dusek's, MONEYGUN, Longman & Eagle) announced Farmer's Fridge will serve made to order salads in their only brick and mortar location. Fans of Detroit-style square-cut pizza will also be sated thanks to Union Squared, a spin-off of Evanston's Union Pizzeria.

There's no opening date, but it should happen sometime this summer. Sure, there's other downtown food courts like Eataly Chicago and Latinicity, but 16" wants to focus on local vendors —even for the tile inside Revival. Approachability is also key, but management doesn't want typical fast food. That means they won't bring in the bigger chains but on the other hand, 16" On Center's Craig Golden said there's no room for "snails on a cracker."

"We did have a couple of guys who wanted to do that, all great chefs," Golden said, explaining some not-so-well-received vendor pitches.

That's why they've gone after the basics (Antique Taco, new burgers from Johnny's Grill's Sarah Jordan, etc.). They'll also feature a Farmer's Fridge vending machine stocked with salads. Farmer's Fridge will also serve breakfast and lunch toasts, including a lox toast with everything bagel seasoning and a Chicago-style avocado toast. Other items include oatmeal and a vegan iced brown rice horchata.

The pizza at Union Squared will be available by the slice and full pies in the tradition of Detroit's Buddy's Pizza. Detroit-style pizza takes inspiration from Sicily and comes with a blend of brick and mozzarella cheeses. The crusts will get caramelized in metal trays chef/owner Vince DiBattista bought in the Motor City. In Evanston, Union is known for its thin crusts, and they'll offer a 10-inch Neapolitan pizza of the week. There's also a selection of veggie sides.

Revival will also feature a coffee shop/bar on the Clark Street side of the building. 16" isn't ready to share the name, but Justin Anderson said they're working on coffee cocktails and beers. They'll employ a variety of coffee roasters, but the atmosphere will change when the sun sets. They're not sure how late they'll stay open, they'll take notes on how patrons receive the space. For now, they only plan on opening on weekdays, but Anderson said they may extend that to Saturdays.

They're also working on an online-ordering portal. While customers will pay for their orders at each kiosk, online orders will be picked up from a central location. There's plenty of more from Revival to be shared in coming weeks. For now, check out the under-construction photos.

UPDATE: Now there's word that the The Fat Shallot, which just debuted their second food truck in April, will also have a station at Revival. They'll offer a daily rotating selection of four sandwiches and a salad. They'll also offer bagels, house-cured salmon and corned beef, as well as specialty drinks.