Food court wars: Shopping centre eateries have gone from frumpy to fancy – so who’s winning?
Australia’s largest shopping centre has unveiled its newest food precinct – a grand and glossy affair larger than the MCG.
Boasting 26,500sqm and 1933 dining seats, Market Pavilion at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne offers casual eateries alongside upmarket restaurants, plus gourmet specialty stores, an oyster bar, fishmongers – even a food concierge.
The Market Pavilion at Chadstone includes high-end vendors. Picture: Supplied
It’s arguably the city’s most lavish food court, with some of the most respected names in the culinary world jumping on board, including iconic Italian cafe Brunetti, restaurateur David Mackintosh (of Lee Ho Fook and MoVida fame) and Vic’s Meats – the Sydney butcher’s first foray into the Victorian market.
Together with Melbourne precincts Grazeland, Il Mercato Centrale, and Quay Quarter in Sydney, Market Pavilion is proof that food courts are hitting a new level of cool when it comes to cuisine.
And it’s not only happening in Australia.
Chadstone’s Market Pavilion has a ‘Food Concierge’. Picture: Supplied
Pat Nourse, Creative Director of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, said food courts trending towards the fancy appeared to be a global phenomenon.
“I visited Bangkok and one of the highlights was a downtown food court called EmSphere, which is three floors of food and two floors of retail … which is the opposite of how we traditionally picture a mall and food court setup,” Mr Nourse recently told the ABC.
“And the food was really good. It had international players like Gordon Ramsay, but also really top draw examples of regional Thai food done to a very fine standard.”
The Market Pavilion at Chadstone includes high-end vendors. Picture: Supplied
Frumpy is still fancied
Even with the rising demand for upscale locations, Fred Mora of Melbourne food collective, Long Prawn, believes there is still a lot of love for the frumpy food court.
“I think there will always be places that exist for people who want to enjoy quick, affordable and delicious food, and that’s exactly what many of these perhaps older and cheaper food courts provide,” Mr Mora told realcommercial.com.au.
Food courts have gone from frumpy to fancy. Picture: Getty
“It’s an interesting time, because I feel like the median level of people’s food knowledge and tastes in Australia, and particularly Melbourne, is quite high. But that certainly shouldn’t mean that food courts need to become more expensive.”
Mr Mora noted Kmart Centre in Chinatown as an example of a cheap-and-cheerful shopping centre food court.
“It’s this amazing alleyway-esque precinct that’s forever changing and stretches from Little Bourke through to Bourke Street. There was this great vendor that made egg pancakes and wrapped them up with duck, coriander and cucumber. I don’t think it’s there anymore, sadly. I love that food court – it’s always there when you need it.”
But with physical retail continuing to decline amid the post-COVID economic crisis, many of these ‘old school’ food courts are either struggling or have permanently shuttered.
Food courts are still popular in Australia – even the older ones. Picture: Getty
And in the past five years in Sydney alone, beloved spots including Hunter Connection, Dixon House and Eating World have been demolished to make way for new developments or city infrastructure.
Are classic food courts operating for decades at risk of disappearing altogether?
“It’s definitely a worry,” confessed Mr Mora, “particularly with high rents, soaring staff costs, insurance and expensive ingredients – these are all factors that can be crippling for these kinds of businesses.”
Mr Mora believes commercial developers should look beyond the monetary by embracing the cultural value food courts add to shopping centres.
“Formally with big developments, the ground level and the more prominent shop frontage is what gets charged the most rent, but I think they could look at things more broadly and see the food court as a way to foster healthy culture and community atmospheres. Food is such a great way of doing that.”
Australia’s first food courts
While the food court can be traced back to the hawker food of village markets, the modern shopping mall incarnation has its roots in the 19th Century department stores of Paris and London.
“They created the idea of a space where you could casually dine rather than something as specific or fancy as a restaurant,” Pat Nourse said.
“Then of course the flight from the suburbs of 1950s and 60s America led to the creation of the mall … and here we are.”
Food courts made way for outlets such as Gloria Jean’s. Picture: Getty
Although they didn’t become a staple of shopping malls until decades later, the Four Corners Gourmet at Roselands Shopping Centre in Sydney is believed to have set the blue print for the modern Australian food court back in 1965.
With 14 vendors offering cuisine from around the globe, Four Corners Gourmet had central tables with a range of food outlets arranged around the edges – essentially “a food court in everything but name,” according to the Australian Food Timeline blog.
By the 1980s, food courts were springing up nationwide.
Inspired by Chinese and South East Asian street food, precincts like Dixon House Food Court in Sydney’s Chinatown (1982) and Sun Markets – which opened in a converted Perth movie theatre in 1984 – are considered some of the first.
McDonalds and other major chains came to food courts in the ’80s. Picture: Getty
By the end of the ’80s, almost every shopping centre sported a food court. Throughout the decade, major chains including McDonald’s and KFC began appearing in food courts, while companies such as Michel’s Patisserie, Boost Juice and Gloria Jean’s kicked off the trend of food businesses trading almost exclusively in shopping centres.
Where are the best in the country?
Pat Nourse gives props to Sussex Centre in Sydney as one of his favourite haunts, “home to the great Happy Chef, thirty years and counting”.
Along with the aforementioned Kmart Centre, Fred Mora has a lot of love for Melbourne’s Paramount Food Court, also in Chinatown, with its nostalgic vibes and great food.
People love the choose-your-own-adventure aspect to food courts. Picture: Getty
“I think it opened in the late nineties – it’s got lots of mirrors and gold stairs and railings. There’s a nice mix of small businesses, nail salons and travel agents, and then on the ground floor an amazing offering of primarily Asian and Southeast Asian foods,” Mr Mora said.
“One of the Thai restaurants there has a big sign saying, ‘The best Thai food in town’. I love when a business makes that kind of grandiose claim, with a sign and all. But to be fair, their food is really amazing!”
Members of social media group, Old Shops Australia, give shout outs to Adelaide Central Market, Hawker Lane in Chatswood Westfield, Morty’s Food Court in Launceston and Old Shanghai in Perth.
An enduring love
So why do we collectively still love the food court? For most Australians, they have been omnipresent in our day-to-day lives since childhood.
“They are the reliable places that are always there when you need them – kind of like those liminal in-between spaces where you might not ever intend to go, but always find yourself in, a bit like an airport where everyone’s in the same boat,” Mr Mora said.
“Or when you’re on that precious one-hour lunch break or being held in time waiting for an appointment.”
Chadstone’s new food precinct. Picture: Supplied
Mr Mora believes freedom of choice and sense of community remain key to the food court’s enduring appeal.
“People love the choose-your-own-adventure aspect to food courts. When dining as a group, you can decide on something that suits your dietary needs or budget and then come back to dine at the same table, almost like a picnic, and share common ground. I think that’s always been a really enticing proposition.”
