HUB RTP's first restaurant tenant will be Preeti Waas' Cheeni

The Indian restaurant Cheeni will open a new location in the Research Triangle Park's HUB RTP development .

Why it matters: HUB RTP is an ambitious project aimed at creating a vibrant downtown district where people can live, work and shop in the heart of a business park that for over half a century has lacked amenities.

Driving the news: Cheeni will be the first restaurant to sign a lease in the Horseshoe at HUB RTP project, a collection of buildings that includes 121,900 square feet of office space and 35,600 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

• The Research Triangle Foundation, the organization that manages the park, worked with Charlotte-based developer White Point on the project.
• HUB RTP is located at the intersection of Davis Drive and N.C. 54 in Research Triangle Park.

Zoom in: Cheeni, owned by James Beard-nominated chef Preeti Waas , will lease 3,000 square feet there and plans to open next year.

• The RTP location will be Cheeni's second full-service restaurant, after Waas closed her original cafe location in north Raleigh and opened a full-service restaurant in downtown Durham .

Go deeper: Inside Chef Preeti Waas' takeover of the former Jack Tar Diner space .

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