Bon Appetite! Devonshire Mall has officially opened its new food court in the former Zellers/Target area.
As part of a $70-million overhaul of the mall, it includes 15 food outlets compared to 12 at the old location along with more seating.
The new state-of-the-art area is modern with high ceilings, windows, solar panels on the roof, there is a universal washroom for people with disabilities, a room for nursing moms and no garbage cans in adopting a 'journey to zero waste' system.
Mall General Manager Chris Savage says people will now leave their trays on the table, or bring their trays to the tray station where the food will be sorted out in an organic food waste system.
"There is a composting system in the back where we are able to take the organic waste, 100 pounds of organic waste in a 15-hour cycle and it comes out as 15 pounds of compost," he says. "Our staff will be in sorting the food for you. The challenge is that you make sure you sort it properly and the easiest way to do that, as a service to our customers, is to do it for them."
The goal is to divert 90% of the waste and a recent test run in the old food court found more than 90% of customers adopted the new policy.
Mall General Manager Chris Savard at the opening of the food court. June 27, 2018 (Photo by AM800's Teresinha Medeiros)
Bev Turner was at the mall and took a look at the new space and she liked what she saw.
"I think it is very beautiful, very spaceous, a little bit noisy but it is the grand opening and I think it is really nice."
The next phase of the project includes renovations to the old food court to turn it into retail space and Savard would also like to see something done in the old Sears location.
The Mandarin restaurant will open likely next week.
Three..two..one...the food court @devonshiremall is now open for business. @AM800News #cklw pic.twitter.com/N7DMV8ESIf
— Teresinha Medeiros (@tmedeiros800) June 27, 2018