Discover dining at the centre
Nicole O'Reilly September 20, 2011
A year after the Hamilton Waterfront Trust took over management of the shuttered Discovery Centre, the arms-length city agency has found an anchor tenant.
Two new restaurants that will consume 8,000 square feet of the waterfront building are expected to be open by spring 2012, said trust chairman Bob Charters, adding that details are still being finalized.
One restaurant will be Italian “elegant dining,” while the other will be a more casual smokehouse grill equipped with a stage for live entertainment and a dance floor, said Arthur Boiago, of Hamilton-based Arthur Entertainment Inc. The space will also have a 13,000-square-foot patio.
“It’s a fabulous location,” for a concept Boiago’s worked on for some time, he said.
Parks Canada closed the Discovery Centre last fall amid dwindling attendance. That’s when the Waterfront Trust signed a 43-year lease to manage the site.
The restaurants are “adding a dimension to the waterfront,” Charters said.
The trust would not disclose financial details, but said “it’s very much in line” with the anticipated budget. The negotiations took place over the past few months.
“We had one shot and wanted to do it right,” said board member and area Councillor Jason Farr, adding that they were keenly aware of the amount of time that has passed and are relieved to have finally found the right tenants.
Farr said he’s confident the board will announce another “very proper” tenant for a different section of the building soon.
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