Foggy Bottom’s first food hall is slated to open later this summer — almost a year after its original debut date.

Western Market, located in a 12,300-square-foot building on Pennsylvania Avenue, will bring 12 vendors into the once-struggling interior mall near George Washington University’s campus.

Fried chicken spot Roaming Rooster, Italian deli (and originator of the Fauci Pouchy) Capo Deli, and a new concept from the creators of Elle, Tigerella, are among the food hall’s offerings. The new spots join the building’s already-existing eateries Duke’s Grocery and Captain Cookie & the Milkman.

To accommodate for coronavirus precautions, Western Market will include an outdoor seating area on the south-facing side of the building, and part of the building renovations included adding more entrances and exits to avoid crowded foot traffic. The food hall’s concourse has been also been reconstructed to allow for smaller, socially distanced tables.

The late-summer debut will coincide with the beginning of the fall semester for George Washington University students, who will return to campus for the first time in more than a year for in-person classes. Western Market also sits blocks away from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund – potential boons to business, should more office work return in the coming months.

Foggy Bottom’s first food hall comes years into D.C.’s food hall boom, and as the city’s restaurant scene begins its recovery from year-long pandemic restrictions. By design, a food hall (a large communal space where dozens of people can eat and drink and breathe the same air together) isn’t the most pandemic-friendly dining concept. Indoor dining has lost some of its appeal — replaced with streateries, rooftops, and gardens.

But despite the coronavirus of it all, more food halls have come to the city recently, continuing the communal dining moment while adapting to the pandemic. The Roost, a Capitol Hill food hall featuring Shop Made in DC and boutique coffee spot Cameo, began a slow opening in September. Last summer, Aaron Gordon, owner of Red Light, merged the concept of a food hall with the burgeoning “ghost kitchen” trend, opening a “ghost food hall” in Glover Park. And Love, Makoto, a Japanese food hall from Sushi Taro chef Makoto Osuwa and Unconventional Diner co-owner Eric Eden is slated to open downtown later this summer or fall.

This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Tigerella.