This food court ‘oasis’ takes reservations

You’re at the mall and you’re feeling famished. But you’re worried you won’t get a seat at the crowded food court.

Why not reserve a table?

The upscale food court wars just got a little crazier with the introduction of a table reservation system at Toronto’s Yorkdale mall.

“We like to think that this is a bit of an oasis for our customers, so they can relax a bit when they’re having something to eat,” says Anthony Casalanguida, general manager of the mall, standing near one of the two oversized fireplaces in the food court. “Being able to reserve a table makes it a much more civil experience.”

The Star got an exclusive tour of Yorkdale’s new $38-million eatery, which opens to the public on Saturday, June 2.

PHOTOS: Yorkdale’s new food court

The new 45,000-square-foot space dubbed Dine On 3, is upstairs where the old Eaton’s store used to sit. At 1,000 seats, it is double the capacity of the old food court.

After a hard day shopping at Cartier, Tiffany or Louis Vuitton, hungry shoppers can book a reservation through customer service or through an app on their smartphone.

Within seconds you can have reserved seating for your KFC lunch. Of course, all sit-down food is plated, with cutlery, because at this food court, why would you really want to eat your Subway sandwich any other way?

But that’s not all. Guests will be greeted by a “perfume butler” so they can try on different perfumes to freshen up. There will be a translator service just in case you need directions to Holt Renfrew in, say, Japanese. There are, of course, two massive fireplaces and a patio that seats 60.

Here, no detail is too small. The dining experience is elevated with bag hooks under the tables, so that guests will never have to soil their new handbags from the just-opened Tory Burch store.

For those not craving KFC, Subway or New York Fries, there is more upscale fare among the 19 restaurants, including: the largest Espressamente illy café in the world, a Glow Press restaurant from health-food goddess Rose Reisman, and the first Toronto outpost of Alberta’s Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria.

“Opening in a mall wasn’t our first choice, but this wasn’t any ordinary location,” says Kelly Farraj, vice-president of Famoso pizzeria.

For dessert, there is La Paloma Gelateria, which already has a cult following for their granitas and 75 flavours of gelato.

No wonder Casalanguida cringes when you call his food court, a food court. It’s a “food collection,” he insists.

“I don’t know if ‘one-upmanship’ over the other malls is the right word, but we are certainly trying to do things a little differently here,” he says diplomatically.

The general manager says there was an increasing disconnect between the older, dated food court and the increasingly high-end offerings of the mall. A new Cartier store had its grand opening this week, right across from Tiffany & Co.

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“One of the biggest complaints we had in the past was, ‘When are you going to do something about your food court?’” says Casalanguida.

Yorkdale, in the north end of Toronto, is considered one of the most profitable malls in Canada with sales averaging $1,300 per square foot. The mall is undergoing a $220-million expansion with more high-end stores opening in the fall.

On this weekday at Famoso, more than a dozen workers are doing practice runs of kneading fresh dough, flipping pizza and trying to figure out how to work the $45,000 oven. Most of the pizza will end up in the trash since they are not licensed to provide food services as yet.

Outside the restaurant, workers are busy tearing off the bubble wrap from the sleek Pedrali Italian-made chairs that will be scattered throughout the food court. Signage is still being hung in a race to the finish for the Saturday deadline.

The move to upgrade food courts in shopping centres has been spurred by more sophisticated consumers who can now expect a decent latte at their local McDonalds. Developers globally have been improving the eating experience in a bid to entice shoppers to stay longer and spend more.

“If you stay a little longer, you’ll likely shop a little longer,” says Toronto retail and hospitality consultant Diane Chiasson.

But while Yorkdale has upped the ante, they are not the pioneers.

The Eaton Centre threw down the gauntlet last fall with their successful Urban Eatery makeover. They were also the first in the GTA to introduce plated food and designer furniture in their food court.

But Chiasson says this is the first she has heard of a food court taking reservations.

“I think it’s great. Everyone is out there trying to have a point of differentiation from their competitor and you may see other people having to follow their path.”

While improving services and decor is a positive step, Chiasson cautions that at the end of the day, the proof is in the product, not the hype.

“Those better be good french fries for someone to make a reservation. But when the novelty wears off, nobody will be booking ahead unless the food is truly worth it.”