There will be an addition to the gourmet enclave of Huron Village, but rumors of Sofra Bakery and Cafe moving into the old Formaggio Kitchen space are wrong, according to a manager at the beloved Strawberry Hill eatery.
What is coming: the first cafe run by the bread maker Iggy’s. But it’s not filling the space Formaggio left when moving nearby; instead the Iggy’s venture is expected at 348 Huron Ave., the space next to Formaggio that was left empty when the Mobilia Gallery relocated in early 2021.
The Iggy’s cafe, which will focus on coffee and croissants rather than selling bread, isn’t expected to open until “the late February, early March range,” said Nick Zappia, plant manager for the Cambridge Highlands bread maker.
Though Huron Village may be hungry for croissants now, the opening date is at the mercy of factors outside the control of Iggy’s – “a combination of contractors, architects and some equipment that we’ve ordered that’s coming from Germany,” Zappia said Friday. “We’re really just finally getting going again. We were delayed for so long with other things – windows that took forever to come, and all kinds of construction things.”
The cafe will be a first for Iggy’s and “it’s super exciting,” Zappia said, promising more details closer to opening.
Iggy’s Bread of the World was founded in 1994 by Igor and Ludmilla Ivanovic. It has around 100 employees and sells to restaurants and grocery stores across the region.
Meanwhile, at Sofra
Also on Friday, the general manager at Sofra, Payal Parikh, said there were no plans to open in Huron Village, though “we have been hearing that rumor a lot lately.” Instead, Sofra is making improvements at the existing space at 1 Belmont St. by the Watertown line, including redoing the floors and updating the pastry display as indoor dining reopened. “We would love to open a new space at some point, but I don’t think we even looked at Huron Village,” Parikh said. For right now, “it’s just really nice to have folks back inside the cafe. We’re doing what we can to make people comfortable here.”
Staff at Formaggio Kitchen keep an eye on their old space, but it’s unclear what will take it over. “We’ve heard a bunch of different things,” wine buyer Colin Mason said. “The leading rumor is furniture store.”
Formaggio Kitchen sells gourmet foods with specialties in cheese and wine at 58 Huron Ave. and has a second Cambridge location at 94 Hampshire St., Kendall Square.
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