The BEAT

elite|studio e was brought on to design and build Morrissey Hall, the food hall in the gutted old Boston Globe newspaper production building. Our team was tasked with designing both the front and back of house areas to serve about 500 people.

The client wanted a wide variety of food offerings, most notably a brick oven-fired pizza. Since the oven weighs about 1,000 pounds, the installation had

to be coordinated from the beginning of the project. Our team had to make sure that the floor was strong enough to support the oven and that the overlarge piece of equipment would fit into the building. With careful planning and strategy, the oven was successfully installed. Two unique aspects of the project included installing vertical glass food protectors without any visible supports, as well as “grow your own herb” cabinets.

Following the completion of the food hall, The BEAT enlisted elite|studio e to build out the barista bar. The bar was placed in an atrium for easy access as employees go about their day and is open to the public. The company wanted to offer craft drinks, so a Baby Hardtank and Nitrotaps were specified, as well as a Botrista, which enables customers to create their own craft drinks. 

Because of Health Department requirements, an overhead canopy needed to be installed since the bar was located in an open area. Due to the size of

the bar, there were specific constraints that affected the installation of the canopy. The elite team had to work carefully to ensure the canopy fit correctly. They also had to be strategic in where they placed the floor drains because of the concrete slab below the bar.

Since The BEAT is located in a former newspaper building, there are several nods to the building’s history in these spaces. The barista bar is named “Press” as an ode to the origins and a play on words for a coffee machine.