A new food court in Washington Mall will allow people to mix and match their food choices and sit where they want in a central location that is likely to boost the number of visitors coming into the shopping mall.

The concept is popular in the US, UK and other parts of the world, but has not been tried out in Bermuda — until now.

Within the coming weeks the food court will open its doors and offer seven distinct food stations, from a salad bar to fresh pasta, Mexican dishes, an “around the world” buffet selection and freshly-pressed fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies.

Two of the mall’s current food outlets, China Grill and Delicious, are relocating to become part of the one-stop food court.

Customers can look forward to a central hub where they can take their pick of food choices and sit down for a snack or lunch.

There will be a large selection of healthy options, including gluten-free and vegan-friendly, alongside popular comfort food choices.

It will be a place where people can meet up and sit together to eat, even if they all have different tastes and buy from separate food stations within the court.

Antonello Fadda, one of the joint managers behind the enterprise, believes it will be a welcome addition to the mall.

The food court is located on the lower level of Washington Mall Phase III, next to the Beluga Bar sushi restaurant, which Mr Fadda also runs.

The large, open-plan space has been unoccupied since the newest section of the mall was constructed and opened in 2010.

“I was always interested in this big space,” said Mr Fadda. However, he was initially thinking about the potential of expanding the Beluga Bar into some of the vacant void.

Then he and Paul Slaughter, general manager of mall owner’s Washington Properties (Bermuda), came up with the idea of introducing a food court to Bermuda. A year after the idea was first brainstormed, Mr Fadda started to turn the concept into reality.

“A food court in Bermuda is something that had not been heard of before,” he said. He travelled to the US, England and Italy to gain knowledge of mall food courts and how they operated.

Full article can be found at The Royal Gazette.