Roxy’s Grilled Cheese folks to open fast-casual restaurant

Jessica Rinaldi

Roxy’s Grilled Cheese owner James DiSabatino (pictured) and business partner Rebecca Arnold will open Whole Heart Provisions in Allston in mid-September (487 Cambridge St. at Brighton Avenue). The fast-casual restaurant will focus on build-your-own veggie bowls, iced tea, and juices. It’s next door to Roxy’s — and a healthy counterpoint to that establishment’s luscious, gargantuan cheese sandwiches.

The Kitchen has opened at the new Boston Public Market (100 Hanover St. at Haymarket Station). The 3,200-square-foot demo kitchen hosts a variety of culinary and lifestyle programming. Look for appearances by local chefs, cookbook authors, and health experts geared to savvy cooks and novices too. This month, “America’s Test Kitchen” hosts a knife workshop, the Boston Children’s Museum runs a pancake-making demo, coffee maven George Howell hosts a tasting, and Project Bread oversees a seminar on prepping healthy meals on a budget. A full lineup is at www.bostonpublicmarket.org/kitchen.

Southern Kin Cookhouse & Bar is slated to open at Somerville’s Assembly Row complex (500 Assembly Row) this fall. It’s the latest concept from Boston Nightlife Ventures, the team that brought you South End speakeasy Wink & Nod. It will serve comfort food like country-fried steak, curiosities like blackened gator tacos, plus rye, bourbon, and moonshine cocktails. The 108-seat spot also has a 60-seat patio.

Burger empire Shake Shack is poised to open its fifth Boston-area location in 2017, according to a company rep. The newest Shack will be located at Watermark Seaport, a new mixed-use development at Boston’s Seaport Square. There are other local Shacks on Newbury Street and in Harvard Square, plus at Chestnut Hill’s The Street and at Dedham’s Legacy Place shopping complexes. The chain started in 2004 as a hot dog cart in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park. Today, it’s known for burgers draped in ShackSauce — a beguiling mixture of ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard — and mealy, crinkle-cut fries.

Can’t get to the beach for a lobster roll? Try the next best thing: Visit any Shake Shack throughout the Boston area for a burger topped with Maine lobster. The $8.99 Surf ’N Shack will be sold at all local Shacks until Sept. 20.