Westfield Old Orchard to launch world-first dining and green specialty food shopping venue

Skokie, Ill. -- The Westfield Group announced that its Westfield Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie, Ill., will change dramatically with the addition of a culinary-focused dining and green food shopping venue slated to open in summer 2011.



The new venue replaces the former food court, which closed on Sept. 1 to make way for the new development.



During the build-out period, the construction area will be surrounded by oversized graphics displaying colorful photo illustrations and renderings of the new concept, which is the brainchild of Richtree Market Restaurants, a Canadian food service firm that has created innovative restaurant and marketplace concepts in a number of Canadian shopping malls.



Westfield Old Orchard’s venue is envisioned as a contemporary approach to dining and food shopping that will feature a wide assortment of gourmet food stations plus a dynamic market offering organic, sustainable and natural artisan specialty foods, seasonal fresh produce and other grocery items.



"We believe that, with its multiculturalism and well-known passion for food, Chicago is the perfect city to host our first U.S. location,” said Kevin McCormack, director of Richtree’s Large Format Restaurants Concept. “The decision to choose Old Orchard was based on the mall’s positioning as a flagship shopping center in the Midwest, and part of a world leading property development group.”



The open kitchens and natural market will be arranged as a casual yet sophisticated series of food stations or “kitchens,” where all-natural food is freshly prepared before customers’ eyes. The décor will be contemporary, and there will be common seating areas with both indoor and alfresco style dining. The venue will cover 22,500 sq. ft. Offerings include seafood, pizza, fresh pasta made on premises, fresh grill, French rotisserie, carving station, freshly smoked meats, bakery, omelets, cheese, fresh fruit juices and smoothies, sushi, oyster bar, Asian specialties, salads, desserts, pastries, gelato and coffee creations.



Westfield Old Orchard is anchored by Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and Macy’s.