Spanish “snackies” are finally arriving at Optimist Hall, where Marina’s Tapas food stall has opened.

The casual food from the team behind beloved restaurant Customshop will be “super simple, nothing over-complicated … no-frills,” chef and co-owner Andres Kaifer told CharlotteFive. But still, “There’s a lot of love in the food.”

Of course there is love — because the whole identity of Marina’s is an ode to Kaifer’s Spanish great-grandmother, Marina, who ran a small tapería called Casa Alvarín in Spain, which still remains open 120 years later.

With that ethos in mind, Kaifer and his business partner, Alex Bridges, built a light, bright, open stall to emulate that streetside Spanish cafe feel at the Charlotte food hall.

With room for 650 people and 20+ food stalls, Optimist Hall is a foot-traffic haven and an “accessible space” for Spanish food, Bridges told CharlotteFive…

 

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