Here are a few things you don’t know yet about Charlotte’s new Optimist Hall

You’ve probably seen the news: The food hall at the Optimist Hall project announced four new tenants Monday, drawing closer to the full list of 15 planned for the space.

Yes, The Dumpling Lady is joining Papi Queso as a food truck business that’s adding a permanent location, and Chicago classic cocktail bar Billy Sunday is going to have a space in the open area outside the food hall.

The project won’t open until early 2019, and the vendors will open their spaces after that. But in the meantime, the developers threw a party Monday night to show off some of their new tenants.

What did we glean after fighting through torrential rain to look around inside the hall?

▪ Hurrah for tortas: Rodolfo Montero, the former owner of Tio Montero and the man who put the sandwich counter at the Sav/Way supermarket on the sandwich map, is teaming up with Carlos Suarez of Suarez Bakery. Their new space will combine the Suarez Bakery sweets with Montero’s Spanish- and Mexican-inspired treats.

▪ Billy Sunday isn’t a men’s haberdashery. (That’s Billy Reid.) Billy Sunday is a popular bar in Chicago (Eater.com calls it “beloved Logan Square drinking den”) and it’s known for clever touches like a cocktail served in a Russian doll. At the Optimist Hall preview, mixologist Stephanie Andrews was serving punch in small plastic bags with bamboo straws, an adult/Southeast Asian twist on Capris Sun packets.

▪ Aix Rotisserie, the offshot of the Providence Road French restaurant Aix en Provence, will have a lot more than rotisserie chicken. Expect things like prime rib, and expect a lot more French-style pastries and bread. Co-owner Patrick Garrivier has brought in a pastry chef from Paris.