The Café HOT. has announced that its final day of regular service will be Sunday, May 31. The space at 198 Main Street in Burlington will become a future downtown location of Farmers & Foragers, cofounder Solomon Bayer-Pacht confirmed on Friday.
The location will be a commissary kitchen to start, Bayer-Pacht said, while the team finalizes the restaurant concept. Then it will join Farmers & Foragers Dockside, a seasonal food truck on the Burlington waterfront, and Farmers & Foragers Hillside at the Old Lantern Events Barn in Charlotte.
Bayer-Pacht hinted at the downtown move when he announced the hire of executive chef Avery Buck earlier this month. Buck joined the Farmers & Foragers team from May Day to oversee its commissary kitchen and run catering for weddings and events, while head chef Ryan Brigante is in charge of the Dockside truck. The latter opened for the season on May 23.
That staffing growth — and the need for a bigger prep kitchen to supply the various locations — is driving Farmers & Foragers’ continued expansion, Bayer-Pacht explained at the time. He expects to sign the deal for the space on Monday.
“Once I heard about that space [being available], I was like, Wait, I can’t envision anything else, and I hadn’t even seen the kitchen yet,” Bayer-Pacht said. “I do think Burlington is going to come back strong, and I like the thought of being on Main Street as people come down.”
Brothers Allan and Travis Walker-Hodkin opened the Café HOT. in the former Mirabelles Bakery & Café in September 2021. They made the decision to close reluctantly, they previously told Seven Days, in order to return to New York City to be closer to family and friends.
Customers can get their meat-free breakfast sandwiches on house-baked buttermilk biscuits and milk buns; signature chicken-fried egg; and glazed “bonuts,” made from rings of fried biscuit dough on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. until they sell out.
The Walker-Hodkins may open for additional “small ‘encore’ services” during the transition, according to their Friday announcement on social media. Follow @thecafehot on Instagram for updates.
Melissa Pasanen contributed reporting.
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