“The Rathaus Galerie in Essen will once again become the meeting place for Essen and the surrounding area, such as the hangout next door of the Ruhrpottler. Our new food court will be a place to watch soccer, enjoy snacks and meet friends and family”, explains Frederik Westhoff, Center Manager Essen at HBB Centermanagement GmbH & Co KG. “The different gastro units invite our customers to enjoy their food at our picnic tables or to grab a quick cup of coffee as well as French fries.”
The culinary spectrum is simultaneously diverse as it is international. It ranges from kebabs and gyros to pizza, burgers, schnitzel, currywurst, and Asian dishes. “The options are topped off with a great café concept. However, we wanted to expand the gastronomic spectrum to include other unusual concepts,” says Westhoff.
Open six days a week
The new food court in Essen is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m, Mondays to Saturdays. In addition to the culinary offerings, it features a large LED wall running content typical of the Ruhr region, a children’s play corner in the seating area, as well as WiFi, and a business area with plug-ins for notebooks and other technical devices.
As part of the renovation work, the north side of the Rathaus Galerie was opened and fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing more daylight into the interior. The design of the food court is characterized by a mix of different materials and color schemes based on the typical features of the Ruhr region: Industrial-inspired materials meet the colorful architecture of the kiosks and the plant arrangements from the allotted garden. Likewise, art and culture specific to the Pott region are reinterpreted and act as decorations of the designs “new” in the Revier at the moment. With the opening of the food court, the first of five construction phases has been completed. HBB is planning further remodeling work to make the Rathaus Galerie shine in new splendor in the future. “Our goal is to be a highly attractive destination for our existing and new customers with novel and unique tenants and innovative concepts. The basis for this is an individual sector and tenant mix tailored to the Essen location,” Westhoff continues.
About the Rathaus Galerie Essen
The Rathaus Galerie Essen was opened in 1979 in the center of downtown Essen and was extensively renovated in 2010. The shopping center comprises a total leasable area of approx. 30,800 m², distributed over two levels, as well as two separate parking garages with approx. 1,000 parking spaces. A total of around 70 stores with an attractive mix of well-known anchor tenants such as Jeans Fritz, Decathlon, dm-drugstore, Ernsting’s Family, Olymp & Hades, and other well-known brands and concepts as well as a food court with 14 gastronomy concepts invite shoppers to linger. With exciting new tenants and innovative concepts, an individual mix of sectors and tenants tailored to the location will be very attractive to existing and new customers.
