Seven Restaurants Confirmed for Smith Campus Center

Saloniki—a local Greek fast food chain—and Oggi Gourmet will be among seven vendors located in the new Smith Campus Center when the building opens this fall.

The two restaurants join the previously-confirmed Pavement Coffeehouse, Swissbäkers, Bon Me, Whole Heart Provisions, and Blackbird Doughnuts as vendors within the Smith Campus Center’s remodeled arcade. In total, the Smith Center will be able to seat up to 800 visitors indoors and outdoors. The seven vendors have received all necessary zoning approvals and have confirmed leases with Harvard, according to the University-run Harvard Gazette.

An additional restaurant and bar that will open on the top floor has not yet been determined. The bar and restaurant area will be only open to Harvard ID holders. The newly-renovated building will also have a remodeled exterior and patio area.

Saloniki’s Harvard Square location will be the third for the local chain. It currently operates two other establishments—a Boston location in the Fenway neighborhood and a Cambridge location on Mass. Ave. near Kendall Square.

Its menu touts a variety of pita wraps and Greek-style plates including vegetarian, vegan, and meat options. The restaurant also offers soups and salads. Its website presents the chain as offering “fresh, local, [and] inspired” food choices and claims to buy from local vendors whenever possible.

Oggi Gourmet opened in the formerly-named Holyoke Center in 2007, but was forced to move to 30 Dunster St., also a part of the building complex, when construction started in 2016. The construction on the Smith Campus Center has slowed business for Oggi at its new location as well as other restaurants in the area.

The owners of En Boca, a Mediterranean-inspired tapas restaurant that operated on the opposite side of Holyoke street, alleged in a lawsuit last year that the construction disrupted business and forced it to close its doors.

While some businesses have experienced challenges because of the construction, the seven confirmed vendors will bring additional dining options to the Square and potentially attract students to the renovated Smith Campus Center. University Spokesperson Brigid O’Rourke wrote in an emailed statement that Harvard is excited about the new additions to the Smith Campus Center.

“We’re incredibly excited about all of the diverse new food venues, and believe that together they will bring an added energy and excitement to the Campus Center and greatly complement the already vibrant atmosphere that exists throughout the Square,” O’Rourke wrote.

—Staff writer Franklin R. Civantos can be reached at frank.civantos@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Henry W. Burnes can be reached at henry.burnes@thecrimson.com.