What do you think of this project?

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Surprised there are not TVs in the food spaces. We were looking to watch the game on Wednesday and hopping between places and glanced over and this place was dead. Probably would have considered it if we saw some TVs on with the game since you can clearly see the floor across Gateway. Hopefully, the apartment building south will go ahead sooner rather than later.

Using it as an event space or even just shows like open mic night would probably be a huge boon to the area and get some university aged folks in the door.
 
inclusion said:
Surprised there are not TVs in the food spaces. We were looking to watch the game on Wednesday and hopping between places and glanced over and this place was dead. Probably would have considered it if we saw some TVs on with the game since you can clearly see the floor across Gateway. Hopefully, the apartment building south will go ahead sooner rather than later.

Using it as an event space or even just shows like open mic night would probably be a huge boon to the area and get some university aged folks in the door.
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Simple and brilliant. This would help.
 
SMayo said:
I’m not saying they’re totally wrong about lack of parking and foot traffic being an issue, but I also think the food hall was very poorly marketed.
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It's a bad pedestrian location and no amount of pretending it isn't will make it not.
 
Not enough foot traffic for a food hall and the tables and chairs eliminated the supper crowd. Women don't want to sit on a bar stool in the middle of a floor for supper. Some leasehold improvements such as flooring, booths, softer lighting and the location should draw a restaurant crowd.
 
Out of Towner said:
Not enough foot traffic for a food hall and the tables and chairs eliminated the supper crowd. Women don't want to sit on a bar stool in the middle of a floor for supper. Some leasehold improvements such as flooring, booths, softer lighting and the location should draw a restaurant crowd.
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Unfortunately it will also take more than stairwell access to the second and third floor to successfully support a restaurant. While there is an elevator at the south end, it was poorly located and not well integrated by the developer into supporting food services on the upper floors.
 
edmonton.taproot.news

EPIC co-founder focuses on better event bookings after food-hall closure

After getting sick of the friction involved in booking events, the co-founder of the shuttered EPIC Market has decided to develop a new software-based venture called Better Venu.
edmonton.taproot.news edmonton.taproot.news

EPIC is now involved in a legal dispute with Station Park owner Beljan Development. “The landlord made the decision to terminate the lease of its former tenant following repeated multiple defaults under the agreement, and following all contractual and required notice provisions,” says a statement from Station Park ownership.

Beljan plans to open a replacement for EPIC called Station Park Food Hall this spring.

Butterworth said back rent started piling up for EPIC immediately after it opened, which is why events became such a priority. The outdoor-mall format of Station Park is already challenging during Edmonton’s frigid winters, he said, when shoppers and diners want to park as close to the front door as possible. Nearby options at MKT Fresh Food and Beer Market and the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market did not move the needle on customer volume.

“Regardless of how much energy we put into that location, the crux of the situation is the site just doesn’t have enough walking traffic for 20-plus retail-style businesses to operate, which is the real issue at the end of the day,” Butterworth said in an email. “This is why we shifted a good deal of our operations to events, so I’m not sure what they’re going to do differently, but they have a bit of a hill to climb with that location.”

Butterworth said Station Park could follow the lead of other container park developments like BOXPARK in England, which has shifted focus from mall-like retail to experiential programming such as concerts, pop-up retail, and recreation.

Taproot has been able to confirm seven closures at Station Park, including EPIC. One of them is The Wish List Gifts, the first business to open at the development in December 2023.

Conversely, Cheese Louise opened at Station Park in January, and the Last Call vintage and thrift shop will host a grand opening on Feb. 7.
 
The attractiveness of Whyte Ave, one of our few successful retail streets, is the store front is right on the street not set back. Here you have to walk through a meandering area of things that were not enticing enough to go in.
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It is also an odd or confusing mix of outside facing and inside things and yes particularly in winter people do not want to stay outside too long while they shop or browse. Maybe the concept works better in a bigger place with a milder climate, but I think it was the design, layout or the product offered, not lack of people in the area that is the main problem
 
I also really dislike the entrance under the shipping container, it is not welcoming; it looms. Plus crossing the wide, car-filled Gateway to reach it just doesn't work. It's too bad, we used to go to Wishlist all the time when it was in its old location. Here it required a concerted effort to get to.
 
Gronk! said:
The outdoor-mall format of Station Park is already challenging during Edmonton’s frigid winters, he said, when shoppers and diners want to park as close to the front door as possible.
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Honestly, if you're an able-bodied person who was raised in the Canadian prairies and you won't go somewhere unless you can park right next to the front door, I think less of you.

That said—not surprised by this closure at all, and I do think a food hall would work much better for the downtown office crowd.
 
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