The developer behind Capitol Crossing has inked a deal for a Japanese food hall, the first retail tenant at the massive project that has experienced a slower-than-expected lease-up.

Property Group Partners signed a 9K SF lease with a team featuring chef Makoto Owuka, known for his work at Sushi Taro, and Eric Eden, the owner of Unconventional Diner, the Washington Business Journal reports.

The Japanese food hall concept, branded as Love, Makoto, is expected to open next year in Capitol Crossing's 200 Massachusetts Ave. NW building. It is likely to include a ramen shop, Japanese bakery, robata grill, a sushi offering and a full-service restaurant, plus outdoor seating.

The 200 Mass building delivered in 2018 with 414K SF of office, and then 250 Massachusetts Ave. NW, a 559K SF office building, opened last year. Capitol Crossing, being built atop I-395, is ultimately planned to include 1.9M SF of office, 62K SF of retail and a 180K SF hotel.

PGP had previously been in talks with Danny Meyer to open a location of his famous New York City restaurant, Union Square Café, at the development, but the deal fell apart last year. The developer had also been in talks with another food hall operator, according to the WBJ, but didn't close a deal.

The project's office leasing has also been somewhat sluggish. It signed the American Petroleum Institute in 2017 for 75K SF, but then in July 2018 it replaced its Cushman & Wakefield leasing team with JLL. PGP President Jeffrey Sussman told Bisnow the following month leasing had been slower than he expected, and the project needed "new blood." The JLL team inked a 111K SF deal in May 2019 with WeWork.