A Philadelphia institution since 1962, Pagano’s Market has opened a new Center City location in the bustling Comcast Center Concourse. Foot traffic is steady, thanks to nine other purveyors offering diverse cuisines for broad appeal. Open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, what sets Pagano’s apart is its range as a café and market, and staffed stations for ordering pizza, sandwiches, gourmet entrees, desserts, and baked goods.

Marking the seventh food establishment that KMA has designed for Comcast—Termini Brothers, Buena Onda, Top Chef, DiBruno’s, and Jake & Max’s Delicatessen in the Concourse, and Pizzeria Salvy at the Comcast Technology Center—Pagano’s occupies 1,683 square feet fronting the food court. The initial challenge we faced was an unusually shaped space with odd angles and existing partitions that interfered with surveying. Our first order of business was demolishing the partitions to streamline the process and minimize surprises during documentation and construction.

Conceptual design focused on counter massing and general layout as well as the approach to the back-of-house while reconciling the idiosyncratic space with the realities of an active food court. Back-of-house scope included mechanical spaces, storage, and kitchen layout and design.