The Audrey Jones Beck Building will be the home for the new addition to the Museum dining scene this Fall when it opens the MFA Cafe in the old Cafe Express space
MFA CAFE
Museum of Fine Arts Houston has partnered with two Italian-born co-creators, Paolo Fronza and Matteo Allessandri that will take over the space occupied for years by Cafe Express in the lower level of the Beck Bldg. For this MFA Cafe, Fronza and Allessandri will combine the concepts of a museum cafe with an authentic Italian coffee bar and offer an array of Northern Italian light Italian-inspired fare. They will emphasize local ingredients mixed with authentic Italian meats and cheeses that have been imported. A european style coffee bar will be featured as in their former Rice Village Fellini location that is still going strong! The beauty of this cafe will be featured Italian works of art and culture that will tie the ambience of the cafe with the dining and coffee bar offerings. To top it off, there will be an exterior entrance to the cafe to allow guest to visit outside of the regular Museum hours.
What happens now?
With the Cafe Express closing its doors for good on August 1, opening on August 4, the Museum will be supplying a temporary Pop-Up Shop with service that will continue daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday thru Saturday, until the Museum Cafe opens. Sandwiches, salads and box lunches for the kiddies will be available as well the infamous Food Trucks that hand at the Museum as a regular fixture. All is just a temporary fix until the sophisticated Italian Museum Cafe opens for the public.
It should be noted that this authentic Italian bar is all the rage…..be on the look-out for Fellini’s coffee bars to be popping up all over the city with the first, coming to completion in City Centre in the very near future…….bellissimo, I love it!