Bayer said:
O&B is getting more and more ordinary. And now a food court? Excuse me, an "elevated and approachable food hall experience". So, not so elevated that it wouldn't be considered totally generic.
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I do despise being repetitive, so forgive a re-share at the thought expressed above. I remember fondly 'Oliver's' one of the first adult restos I went to w/o my folks.

Real fire place, actually being used, a basket of interesting rolls brought around and you could choose which you'd like, w/whipped butter, freshly squeezed OJ, and a steak n' caesar that was really quite good.

I am, speaking, of course, of Sunday brunch.......on a crisp winter's morning, sun shining, one's every breath misting the air.

Back when it was a small group, and they really cared.
 
.dwg said:
That food court isn't going to work. The last one felt unmistakably like it was shoved in a corner, and this will too. There are ways to open that space up and bring more light down to it, and this new scheme doesn't seem to aspire to that. It just repeats the last concept all over again.
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Pusateri's, right on the other end of a short tunnel, has closed a lot of their areas over the last two years, so I wonder why people think this would do better? Assembly Chef's Hall, just down the street, is a bit of a ghost town most days.

Though the Eaton Centre food court itself is still pretty busy most days. Maybe they know something we don't.
 
evandyk said:
Pusateri's, right on the other end of a short tunnel, has closed a lot of their areas over the last two years, so I wonder why people think this would do better?
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The answer is that Cadillac Fairview is asleep at the wheel and/or all out of ideas at this point.
 
I guess that's the point. Each of us likes different things, but I assume there's no group in Canada that has more actual data on this than CF.
 
evandyk said:
I guess that's the point. Each of us likes different things, but I assume there's no group in Canada that has more actual data on this than CF.
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Ah yes, do you mean all the data that they collected without their customers’ knowledge through facial recognition software? Which they would've been still doing had they not been exposed.
 
evandyk said:
Maybe, though you'd think that if anyone knows what drives traffic to malls, it's them?
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Companies change, management changes, personnel changes.

I'd also add that success to date doesn't mean their approach is beyond criticism, nor is it a guarantee of future success. So I think it's reasonable to criticize things such as the stripping of any and all personality from the Eaton Centre, and now filling the empty gaps with strategies that have failed previously.
 
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Amare said:
Ah yes, do you mean all the data that they collected without their customers’ knowledge through facial recognition software? Which they would've been still doing had they not been exposed.
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Exactly. They must have a huge trove of data about what gets people into malls and where they linger when they get there. They obviously have good reason to think this new food court is a good idea... though I'm skeptical.
 
Collecting data is one thing, making good use of it is another. Depending on the forces at play, you can shift and manipulate data to construe or support any particular narrative. I wouldn’t assume that they’re making particularly good use of it.
 
True, I just think that if you go with their analysis versus that of a bunch of armchair quarterbacks on an anonymous forum, you're probably better off going with theirs most of the time.

Large internet forums can also be a valuable source of data (e.g. people googling flu symptoms, or posting online reviews about how they can't smell their American candles) but I'm not sure we have the critical mass here on urbantoronto to reach that level.
 
evandyk said:
True, I just think that if you go with their analysis versus that of a bunch of armchair quarterbacks on an anonymous forum, you're probably better off going with theirs most of the time.
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Although they probably should've listened to us armchair quarterbacks here when it comes to all of their sterile renovation projects, because at the moment they all suck the life out of just about anything and I cant remember anytime where someone has said "oh this mall looks nice". Ironic because i've heard many comment on how nice the bridge between the Eaton Centre and the HBC building looks.

Their new builds are spot on (we're all holding our breath when it comes to East Harbour), but their renovations are a whole other story.
 
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