Tonight, at precisely 9pm, the Rideau Centre Food Court as we know it will close for the last time.
Rideau Centre’s new Dining Hall will replace the Food Court that served the mall since its grand debut in 1983. Occupying the lower level of the former Sears store, the modern, state-of-the-art eating area will open to the public tomorrow at 11am.
A slew of brand-spanking new food vendors fills the space, with cuisines originating from all around the world. Notable eateries to try are MLT DWN, a gourmet grilled cheese place run by two Ottawa-born brothers featuring a lobster specialty, and Amaya, Rideau Centre’s first Indian food outlet.
The other food spots opening with the Dining Hall are Big Smoke Burger, Grillades Torino, Place Tevere, Shanghai 360, UMI Sushi Express, Crepe De Licious, Green Rebel, and Purdy’s Chocolatier. Old favorites, like KFC and Subway will be returning with a face lift, and other familiar faces will no longer be part of the Rideau Centre dining roster, such as Manchu Wok and Villa Trattoria.
These eateries will all be housed in theatre food units that boost visual appetite-appeal and are sure to delight Ottawa’s foodie population (myself included!).
Aside from a greater selection of meal options, this evolution is better suited to the trendier and more environmentally responsible vision for the future Rideau Centre.
The dining area can now accommodate up to 850 people and offers table, banquette, and bar-style seating. A hand-washing station is also featured, oh-so-convenient charging stations where you can refuel your portable devices on the go, and sleek bathrooms that will hopefully encourage Dining Hall goers to flush more frequently than the guests of the previous Food Court washrooms.
According to The Citizen, major modifications that will have monumental results are the addition of a scullery and re-imagined food tray collection and recycling stations operated by Dining Hall employees. The turbo dishwasher housed in the scullery cleans 10,000 dishes an hour which allows for a drastic reduction in waste compared to the countless paper food packages that were being thrown out in the previous Food Court set-up.
“Dining, like shopping, should be an experience,” expressed the mall’s general manager, Cindy VanBuskirk, in her welcome speech at Wednesday’s V.I.P. Preview Event. Fully loaded with a very popular open bar, trendy appetizers, such as sliders, and set to a playlist of songs normally heard in a club setting, the new Dining Hall is geared toward a new generation of eaters.
Indeed, this renovation is just one of many in the overall expansion of Rideau Centre, to be completed by August 1, 2016. Part of the expansion will be to accommodate a bigger and better Shoppers Drug Mart and adapt the Rideau Station for the eventual Confederation Line stop. Other stores that will soon called Rideau Centre home are J. Crew, Kiehl’s, David’s Tea, Lush, and Nordstrom.
Kelsey Sunstrum is a freelance writer & blogger who divides her time between her lifestyle website, Kelsey Says, and satisfying her many foodie cravings.
