Chinatown Food Hall revamp to bring new life to whole precinct
AN Adelaide commercial property mogul says a $2 million revamp of a food hall in the heart of the CBD could bring new life to the entire surrounding precinct.
SA Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
AN Adelaide commercial property mogul says a $2 million revamp of a food hall in the heart of the CBD could act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the entire surrounding precinct.
Irena Zhang hopes the winter refurbishment of her Chinatown Food Plaza on Moonta St will lead to a facelift for one of the city’s most iconic cultural sectors.
“It could be the start of a new Chinatown,” said the former president of Chinatown Adelaide, art gallery owner and current board member of the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust.
“We will rename the hall as Chinatown Plaza and it will be a mix of hospitality, retail and tourism. We want a lot more retail shops to come in, gift shops and fashion.”
Ms Zhang said the extensive refurbishment, due to start within two months, will see the dark 1200sqm space change beyond recognition with the creation of up to eight unique and contemporary dining/retail environments set to position it alongside dining and shopping experiences in Myer or David Jones.
The hall, the more westerly and smaller of Chinatown’s two food courts, currently has one large seating area with shops, all food, arranged around the perimeter.
This setup will completely change, according to Gerald Matthews of Matthews Architects, the firm behind the refit.
“The shops will be internalised,” he said. “The concept is intended to fill the gap between low-cost, fast-paced eating and higher-end restaurant dining.”
Mr Matthews said the two- to three-month construction period would bring something of modern China to the CBD, away from the more standard influence of imperial China.
“There will be some external changes, we want to have a level of identity. It’s got to be authentic, it has to be China speaking,” he said.
“What defines a modern city is a Chinatown — San Francisco, Melbourne and London all have them and they are all different.”
The desire to create a new experience has been in planning for a couple of years said Ms Zhang, who bought the food hall in 2001.
“I had been thinking about it for a while already. Competition (from other restaurants) coming in has been a part. I want to bring in mixed use,” she said.
“There could be a downtown Shanghai and an indoor garden. We have to change as a business and lead.”
Creating a vibrancy familiar to Asian markets in Melbourne and Sydney is fundamental to the success of the new venture said Ms Zhang, who will be looking to extend the opening hours from 11am to 4pm to about 10pm most nights.
Ms Zhang said repainting the walkways between the overhead carparks and generally tidying up the market is also imperative to moving forward.
The new hall will increase seating capacity to 340 chairs with pot plants, benches and alcove dining fresh introductions together with a new ceiling replete with hanging baskets and lanterns.
Inspire Real Estate will be leading the charge to bring in new retail and food tenants.
SA optimism shines through in latest survey
While the perils of this pandemic continued to swirl around them in states like Victoria and overseas, South Australian business owners were surprisingly feeling somewhat confident about the road ahead.
SA business confidence on the mend
SA business confidence made a comeback in the June quarter, exemplified by a Lonsdale family-owned business that employs 500 staff and has its eye firmly on the future of manufacturing in Australia.