South Street Morristown: New Restaurants and MPAC Expansion

Three addresses on South Street in Morristown are each partway through a change: 100, 110 and 133. Construction is underway at the back of the Mayo Performing Arts Center. The Vail Mansion dining room has been dark since Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen served its last meal in early 2025. And the old Capital One branch at 133 South Street has been vacant for years.

The three projects look like one wave of change, but they move on separate timelines. The theater is the only one with a construction schedule. One restaurant has a famous chef attached and no public date. The other is waiting on a board vote shaped by a rule the town council passed in 2024.

100 South Street Is the Only Address With a Clock

MPAC broke ground on May 6, 2026, on a project estimated at about $65 million. MPAC's published construction estimate is 18 to 24 months. Counting from the groundbreaking, that puts the finish somewhere between November 2027 and May 2028.

Most of the new building goes up behind the theater, not on South Street itself. The Ilene and Bruce Jacobs Arts & Education Center is going up on land MPAC bought at the corner of Pine Street and King Place. It will hold seven education studios and classrooms plus a 150-capacity rehearsal and performance space. MPAC's performing arts school will move into it under a new name, the Jacobs Performing Arts School. Morristown Green reported that the 150-seat room could eventually host public events.

The 1937 auditorium is being restored, not enlarged. MPAC says the Main Stage will keep its total capacity of 1,319 with all-new seats, along with restored plaster and interior detailing, accessibility updates and a renovated lobby and plaza.

On September 2, 2026, the Morristown zoning board unanimously approved revisions to the site plan, with conditions on lighting, materials and signage. Architect Jeff Rawding of J.F. Rawding A.I.A. in Morristown told the board, "This is a reconfiguration, not an expansion." The total square footage stays the same. What changed on the plans:

1. A proposed 3,000-square-foot gallery was dropped, and two executive offices were added to existing space.
2. The staff parking deck moves closer to the entrance, and a transformer gets landscaping around it instead of an enclosure.
3. New signage includes an illuminated donor marquee, a carved metal building sign, and LED signs at the deck's clearance bar and in the stair tower for parking directions and show information.
4. The plans add ADA work on Pine Street, a weather canopy and a mural for MPAC's public art program.

Two things are still open. MPAC says it hopes the effect on its show schedule will be minimal but that this "has yet to be determined." School classes will continue in current and satellite locations. MPAC's own new lot will be for staff only on show nights. Even so, a project with a groundbreaking date, an approved site plan and a published construction window is about as predictable as downtown construction gets.

Vail Mansion Has a Name on the Door and No Date

Ten doors down at 110 South Street, the project has a famous chef attached and nothing public about when it will open.

The Town of Morristown announced on October 28, 2025, that Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto would bring MM by Morimoto to the Vail Mansion with Montclair Hospitality Group, whose founder is Luck Sarabhayavanija. The plan calls for a modern Japanese steakhouse of about 15,000 square feet across six themed dining areas, with its own steak program and full mixology program. It would be the second MM by Morimoto in New Jersey, after the Montclair original that opened in summer 2025.

That announcement was almost a year ago. As of September 2026, neither the town nor Montclair Hospitality Group had announced an opening date, and Morimoto's own restaurant list still showed Montclair as his only New Jersey location. Morristown Green had reported earlier that a planned November opening was pushed to "next spring." In the town's last announcement, the design was complete, renovation plans had been submitted, and the operator was working with officials to meet requirements. We couldn't find any later permit or construction report.

The setting is unusual for a restaurant. Theodore Vail, the first president of AT&T, had the mansion built between 1916 and 1918 and died before he ever lived in it. Morristown bought it in 1922 and ran its municipal offices there for about 75 years. In the early 2000s it was converted into 36 condominium residences plus the restaurant space. The project's public status is the town's update from October 2025, which says plans were submitted and approvals were still in progress. Nobody involved has walked the project back.

133 South Street Is Waiting on an Ordinance From 2024

The Morimoto project has no public timeline. Sofia's Table and Terrace is waiting on a zoning vote.

The Walsh family wants to turn the former Capital One Bank into a seasonal rooftop restaurant. Their restaurants already include The Homestead, Tashmoo and The Dark Horse on DeHart Street and The Horseshoe Tavern on Speedwell Avenue. Eric Heinel, a restaurateur and certified sommelier, would run day-to-day operations as a "partial investor and managing partner of operations." The application first came before the zoning board early in 2026, and the September 2 meeting was its fifth hearing.

The sticking point is the roof, and that goes back further than this application. In 2012, the Walshes proposed a retractable roof and bowling alley for The Homestead and were turned down. Jimmy Cavanaugh pushed for rooftop dining at his Iron Bar, and the town blocked it over noise concerns. In 2024, the town council passed a land-use ordinance meant to limit noise, protect residential quality of life and rein in what it called a "supersaturated night life." That ordinance made exceptions for only two smaller rooftop features: Stirling Tavern on South Street and Town Bar + Kitchen on Elm Street. Both were treated as accessory uses because their size allows built-in crowd control.

That puts the burden on the applicant, as Vice Chairman Scott Wild explained at the hearing:

"If I were only a resident I would be in support of this application. But in 2024 our elected governing board, our town council voted to not permit rooftop dining. So, in order for the applicant to make a convincing case to change what our town council voted for, there are certain tests that they have to pass."

Board Chairman James Bednarz said he had a hard time treating the rooftop as an accessory, even with the applicant's promise to move patrons indoors by 11 p.m. The public comment ran the other way. Supporters lined up at the podium, and project attorney Lawrence Calli pointed out that no one spoke against the plan.

On the advice of board attorney David Brady, the board did not vote. It asked for two draft resolutions, one approving and one denying. Calli said his client is a contract purchaser and "we need finality." The town's posted agenda for the September 16 Board of Adjustment meeting did not include the application, and we found no decision after that date.

Parking Comes Up at Both Ends of the Block

The theater and the rooftop proposal are on different schedules, but both bring up the same question about parking near South Street.

MPAC is building a two-level deck for its staff, and patrons won't park there on show nights. For Sofia's, the applicant raised its on-site count from 59 to 61 spaces to make room for EVs, cutting outdoor seating by 10 tables, or 40 patrons, to do it. Bednarz said that even after the change, the plan still falls short by 119 spaces.

The two sides' engineers didn't agree on how much parking is nearby. Jeff Peregoy of Dynamic Traffic testified that 1,500 spaces sit within a quarter mile of the property. Connor Hughes, also of Dynamic Traffic, put the usable figure closer to 800, saying the higher count included garages that aren't directly accessible. Hughes's figure was closer to the Morristown Parking Authority's estimate, which measured the quarter mile as a walking distance. Bednarz also raised the homes behind the property and the newer residences across the street.

MPAC says it draws more than 250,000 patrons a year and generates about $18 million in local economic activity. That traffic comes to the same blocks a rooftop restaurant would. Any South Street decision on parking or late hours affects theater nights too.

Markers to Watch This Winter

• Sofia's Table and Terrace: whether the zoning board adopts the approving resolution or the denying one, and at which meeting.
• MPAC: whether MPAC announces dark dates for the Main Stage, and any construction-period parking guidance for patrons, which the May 2026 FAQ didn't address.
• MM by Morimoto: any permit, construction start or reservation announcement from the town or Montclair Hospitality Group.
• The 18-to-24-month window: counting from the May 6, 2026, groundbreaking, MPAC's work is due to wrap up between November 2027 and May 2028.

If you own a home within walking distance of South Street and want to know how this stretch is factoring into buyer interest right now, Michael Gabriel can walk you through what recent nearby sales show. Get Your Free Home Valuation and start with real numbers.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.