PHOTOS: See Inside Devonshire Mall’s New Food Court

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The new food court at Devonshire Mall is now open.

Mall officials welcomed local dignitaries and shoppers for a ribbon cutting ceremony just before the new area was opened to the public, Wednesday morning.

Stores and food vendors in the expanded area that have opened or will be opening this week, include:

• A & W
• Bikini Village
• Cultures
• Feta & Olives
• Footlocker
• Freshly Squeezed
• Hurry Curry
• Kentucky Fried Chicken
• Manchu Wok
• Mountain Warehouse
• Mucho Burrito
• New York Fries
• Niko Sushi
• Shoppers Drug Mart
• Taco Bell
• Tim Hortons

Mall officials say the remaining stores will open this summer, including:

• Boathouse
• Koryo Korean Barbeque
• Love Diamonds
• Mucho Burrito
• New York Fries Poutinery
• Niko Sushi
• Saje Wellness
• Seen Vision Care
• Thai Express

The new food court and expansion is located in space that occupied the former Target store. A feature of the new food court is that all food waste will be separated by mall staff.  Mall general manager Chris Savard says there are no garbage cans or recyling bins in the new food court.  Instead, customers are asked to bring their trays and waste to tray return areas for sorting.  Savard says the mall has achieved a 91% rate of diversion of waste from landfills due to the new system when testing began in the old food court.

The facility features a 100kW solar generating system with 300 solar panels on the building’s roof, a rainwater collector tank for landscaping irrigation, and barrier-free washrooms.  Officials are hoping to achieve a gold level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

Leasing manager Aaron Edwards says the new food court features 15 food outlets, up from 12 at the old food court, and that the new food court seats 810 people, up from 550.  Edwards says only 30% of the new food court’s tables and chairs are fixed, with the remainder configurable to allow for an open space to possibly host indoor markets or even a relocation for Santa, though nothing has been confirmed yet. He said most food outlets have simply moved to the new space, except for Mrs Vanelli’s and Dairy Queen/Orange Julius which have not renewed their leases to stay at the mall.

Edwards said the staff-only area of the new food court includes a centralized deep fryer oil collection system, dishwashing facilities, a bicycle storage room for employees, showers and change areas for employees, storage rooms, and loading docks.

As for the old food court?  With the exception of Cinnabon and the stores near The Bay, the space has been decommissioned and will be reconfigured into retail store space.

Looking south in the new food court.

People line up to await the opening of Devonshire Mall’s new food court.

General Manager Chris Savard.

The mall’s new main entrance features access to the new Shoppers Drug Mart.

One of two lounge seating areas

There are no garbage cans or recycling bins in the new food court. Guests are encouraged to bring their trays to the tray stations for sorting by mall staff. You can even leave your tray or garbage on your table and it will be collected.

Tim Hortons has relocated from its former location to the new food court.

Saje Wellness, Boathouse, Seen Vision Care and Love Diamonds are new stores set to open later this year.

Signs in the new food court show promotional photos of the mall’s past.

Food trays were hand washed in the old food court, but will be washed by a machine to allow staff more customer interaction time in the new food court.

The mall’s classic green trays are out and grey trays are in.

Pictured is one of the mall’s composting systems. Tray sorting in the food court allows 90% of all waste to be diverted from landfills. Organic waste is composted and the remaining material is recycled.

One of two family washrooms.  The mall also features a special needs washroom.

Cinnabon, located near the old food court, will soon close for an extensive renovation. When it reopens in a few months, it will be the last food estabishment in the old food court area.

The old food court is now closed and will be converted to stores, says leasing manager Aaron Edwards.

Looking south along the mall’s main corridor toward the new food court.

Food outlets near The Bay will remain open. The area will receive updated furniture to match that of the new food court.

One of the new stores in the new area, Mountain Warehouse.

The new grand entrance includes a drop off driveway.

The opening of Mandarin has been delayed until the second week of July. Mall officials say Mandarin hired just under 200 people and extensive training is ongoing prior to their opening.