• Daria Bishop
• Front, from left: O.G. bun, North Star iced coffee and broccoli-cheddar bun breakfast sandwich at Haymaker Bun

Sure, the South End Art Hop is about the art. But the event also draws the city's best food trucks and pop-up bars, showcasing the creativity and craft that can infuse what we eat and drink as well as what hangs on gallery walls. With so much ingenuity in one place, there's never been a better excuse to head to the South End for a taste of what's happening.

Pine Street construction hasn’t killed the bustling neighborhood’s vibe or stopped established businesses from growing. Since last year’s Hop, Lake Champlain Chocolates has renovated its flagship store and expanded its café offerings, including cakes, croissants and chocolaty ice cream sundaes. Myer’s Bagels became Myer’s Wood Fired when it moved from Pine Street to Shelburne Road in April 2023, and its co-owners expanded beyond bagels to wood-fired pizzas in May — something they'd offered off and on since 2013, including at that year’s Art Hop. The pies are on hiatus for September but will return as a regular Friday-night thing on October 11. ArtsRiot — which was closed last year — now serves pizza, too, including a surprising yet good kimchi-topped slice.

And the South End's spots to eat and drink just keep coming. Though Majestic probably won't quite be open in time for this year's festivities, keep an eye out on the rotary for the former car rental office that a team of local industry pros will soon turn into a restaurant. (For now, admire the shiny sign that replaced its graffiti-laden predecessor, though tagging is an art form in its own right.)

Here are three new places to fuel up on biscuits, buns, pizza or pints while you hop — or any time.

Breakfast Nouveau

Haymaker Bun, 266 Pine St., Burlington, 610-4217, haymakerbuns.com

• Daria Bishop
• Suns Out Buns Out at Haymaker Bun

Many Hoppers start their day at the Soda Plant. This year, there's an added reason to travel north to south along Pine Street: breakfast at Haymaker Bun's new Burlington location.

In July, the Middlebury-based biz opened a bakery and café in the former Tomgirl Kitchen space. A striking black-and-white mural on the wall, painted by former Haymaker barista Liv Cappello of Long Trail Studio, depicts the bakery's two hometowns.

A 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery, Haymaker is known for decadent brioche buns. Grab a cinnamon roll-inspired O.G. or one of the creative rotating flavors, such as Suns Out Buns Out, with strawberry and pistachio.

Pro tip? Opt for the café's signature breakfast sandwich, which layers a local fried egg and melty Cabot cheddar on a sliced savory bun — such as the Hot Kale, with sautéed kale, leeks and jalapeño Gouda.

If you find yourself at the Soda Plant later in the day, Haymaker's grab-and-go lunch menu features hearty grain bowls and salads packed with seasonal veggies. Sandwiches start at 11 a.m.

The Soda Plant's built-in community of makers immediately gave their support to Haymaker, said owner Caroline Corrente, whose business is a longtime partner of neighboring Brio Coffeeworks. The new spot serves the roaster's hot and iced coffee, and customers are welcome to bring in espresso drinks from Brio's café.

Fired Up

Queen City Café, 377 Pine St., Burlington, 489-6412, queencitycafebtv.com

• File: Daria Bishop
• Curried lentil soup with fresh foccacia at Queen City Café

The Coal Collective is always an Art Hop hot spot, and Queen City Café has kept the flame burning in the old Myer's location behind Barge Canal Market. But instead of bagels, chef Sean Richards churns out Burlington's best biscuits.

Richards opened Queen City Café in April, and the fluffy, flaky rounds quickly took off. A breakfast sandwich with wood-fired bacon and housemade hot sauce — or a vegan version on an equally impressive biscuit — will help you easel into the Hop's happenings.

If you need a place to cozy up and recharge, the café's luxe leather couches and spacious wooden pew seating — all designed by Barge Canal's Adelle Lawrence and Jeremy Smith — offer a relaxed, library-like setting. There's top-notch cold-brew (made with Kestrel Coffee Roasters beans), as well as quick lunch items such as chicken and biscuits and fresh BLTs. If we're lucky, Richards will flex his Tennessee-honed southern cooking muscles beyond biscuits to bring back a recent South End Get Down special: slow-cooked baby back ribs.

Switched On

Switchback Brewing's Beer Garden & Tap House, 160 Flynn Ave., Burlington, 651-4114, switchbackvt.com

• File: Daria Bishop
• From left: Chicken Schnitzel Sandy, fries, E-Z Betty Spaghett, BLT and Switchback Ale at Switchback Brewing's Beer Garden & Tap House

Switchback Brewing's Beer Garden & Tap House held its grand opening on July 12, anchoring the longtime South End biz firmly in place. The brewery has had a tiny, tucked-away tasting room since 2014, but the new bar and restaurant is now the centerpiece of the 120-year-old brick building — and much easier to find. With room for 20 beers on tap, more than twice the space indoors and an extensive outdoor patio, the tap house gives the team space to show off what else it can do.

"It's reflective of what Switchback is now," plant engineer Gretchen Langfeldt said. "Ale and a lot of other things."

The brewery's new employee-led side project, Askew Beer, is another exciting addition. The experimental brews are an outlet for brewers' creativity, unbound by the strict parameters that come with 22-plus years of being a local staple.

Paired with a cold IPA or a beer-infused cocktail, Switchback's jumbo Bavarian-style pretzels, crispy chicken schnitzel sandwiches, bulging BLTs and juicy smash burgers are worthy rewards at the end of a long Hop.

Melissa Pasanen contributed reporting.