Toronto building owners woo workers with upscale food and drink

As workers slowly trickle back into the offices left empty during the COVID-19 pandemic, Toronto’s commercial landlords are spicing things up with a culinary renaissance.

Throughout the downtown core, new food and beverage locations are sprouting up, and existing drinking and dining spots are upping their game, reimagining their spaces and fare.

“Better dining is becoming a core amenity for many buildings now,” says Adam Jacobs, head of research at Colliers Canada, an international property investment and management firm. “In the past, property owners would put in a gym or a yoga room to attract people to their buildings. But during the pandemic, people set up yoga rooms in their basements, so you need more – and a restaurant is something you can’t set up at home.”

While major employers such as Amazon and the federal government have been mandating a return to the office, a recent report by Colliers Canada found that office vacancies across the Greater Toronto Area are still on the rise as of the second quarter of this year. The overall office vacancy rate across the GTA climbed to 12.6 per cent during this year’s second quarter, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

Some developers are hoping snazzy new restaurants will attract consumer spending and more workers, Mr. Jacobs says. He points to two downtown Toronto properties that appear to be spearheading the restaurant revitalization – the Well at 486 Front St. W. and the forthcoming Berczy Square at 33 Yonge St., which will feature five new and renovated dining establishments.

“I just went to the Wellington Market Food Hall at the Well the other day, and it makes me want to go back,” he says. “I’m watching Berczy Square closely because it’s our office’s neighbour.”

Does this translate into a trend? Maybe. Another project, Waterworks on Richmond Street West, integrates a former industrial complex built in 1932 with a European-style food hall. A newly opened establishment, Estiatorio Milos, brings a well-regarded Montreal Greek restaurant to the heart of the Bay Street Financial District. Nearby is Daphne, an 8,000-square-foot American-style restaurant with a 2,000-square-foot patio.

“We have nine properties along Bay Street built between the 1920s and 1950s. They’re beautiful, but they needed some love,” says Brad Keast, vice-president of innovation and development at Dream Unlimited, which has overhauled and updated the classic mid-century properties. “We think working with the hospitality sector will help do this.”

Over at Berczy Square, most of the spiffed-up restaurants are already open, including retro-American the Joneses, the upscale Biff’s Bistro, Latin-inspired Ceci Bar and Café Landwer. Italian steakhouse Sanmarco is expected to open in November.

Sanmarco will have interiors by II by IV Design, with stone detailing, terrazzo and marble flooring, and warm wood-accented walls. It will include a private dining room for corporate events, a wine room and an outdoor terrace.

The arrival of ever-fancier restaurants is part of a bigger trend in Toronto, says Phil Wylie, vice-president of people and operations at Oliver & Bonacini.

“Toronto is becoming more of a player on the global scene,” he adds, noting that Michelin released its 2024 list of Toronto-area starred restaurants on Sept. 18.

Diners are seeking high-quality fare from around the world in multicultural Toronto, and their expectations have grown because they see great restaurants and dishes on social media, he says.

“We’re attracting great chefs from around the world with all kinds of different offerings, and people have come to expect more,” Mr. Wylie says.

Building owners and operators are upping their game, too, says Steffan Smith, executive vice-president of asset management at GWL Realty Advisors, which operates the block-sized 13-storey Berczy Square.

“We considered looking for new retail tenants, but we’ve always had restaurants here,” he says.

“It’s a half-million-square-foot office building, and to encourage people to come to work, we have to earn their commute with amenities.”

Mr. Smith acknowledges that people’s work patterns are no longer 9 to 5, meaning having a building with the best places for food and drink is ideal for workers. “We want people who work or stop in here to be covered from the morning until their last cocktail,” he says.

Oliver Harrison – senior vice-president of leasing and tenant experience at RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns and operates the Well – agrees that office workers want better food and beverage options. RioCan’s Wellington Market, which opened last November, can serve about 3,400 customers with 900 seats and more than 50 different vendors.

“I think it exceeds people’s expectations when they compare the Market with what you’d typically see at a food court in a shopping mall,” Mr. Harrison says.

“The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. We’ve seen somewhere between a 30- and 45-per-cent increase in foot traffic since the Market opened last year. It shows how significant an attraction food is for a modern mixed-use development in this day and age.”