Cascais Kitchen: bringing a new dining experience to Portugal

Abstract

When two of the restaurant units in CascaiShopping closed due to lack of business, Sonae Sierra embarked upon a project to refresh an area of the shopping centre that was receiving little footfall. Taking inspiration from international food markets, our teams worked together to create an innovative food court area which offers visitors a relaxing place to sample a range of different cuisines, to socialise, relax and be entertained. With a flexible format that encourages small-scale restaurants to trial new concepts, Cascais Kitchen creates value for tenants and consumers alike, and has enabled us to make an ailing part of the shopping centre vibrant and profitable again.

Introduction

At Sonae Sierra, we are always looking to maximise value creation from our shopping centres, and we seek to bring perpetual novelty to consumers by introducing new and exciting concepts across our malls.

At CascaiShopping in Portugal, we wanted to take action to enhance an area of the shopping centre which was receiving low levels of footfall. The area had been occupied by three traditional restaurants which were not performing well (two of them had already closed), without a solution to bring in more business. Drawing on the expertise of our shopping centre and innovation teams and inspiration from our international knowledge, we sought to create a concept that would go beyond expectations and offer a truly new experience to people in and around Cascais.

Background

The intervention area within CascaiShopping had a lettable area of 528m², which only 146m2 was producing rent. The remaining floor area had been vacant for over a year. We urgently needed to reinvigorate the area, making it appealing to visitors and profitable for tenants.

Challenge

We wanted to create a new concept of food court that could coexist with the existing food court offer whilst also anticipating the latest market trends. Besides stimulating consumer activity in an underutilised area of CascaiShopping, we also wanted to use the project as a test bed to develop a new ‘food market’ concept that could be implemented in other centres across our portfolio.

Solution

Taking inspiration from the street markets of Germany, The Netherlands and Austria, we decided to remodel the area so that it could be entirely dedicated to small food stalls. As a social meeting place, dining hall and food market all in one, Cascais Kitchen would present itself as a unique concept and the first food court of its kind in a Portuguese shopping centre.

We began by visualising and designing the concept, which was presented to the development team. It was elaborated with further technical planning, followed by the creation of a business plan and presentation to the Sonae Sierra management team and CascaiShopping owners. Once the concept was approved, we proceeded with the pre-leasing of the scheme and prepared the architectural project. With 100% of the area pre-let, we commenced construction, completing the project in June 2016.

The new, completed food court includes eight different food stalls with a wide-ranging offer of local and international cuisine. With 365 seats and a dedicated children’s area, it offers a comfortable and stimulating venue for families and friends to meet and eat. Furthermore, we plan to use Cascais Kitchen as a setting for workshops, cooking shows and other artistic and cultural events.

In terms of operational impact, Cascais Kitchen has reduced the letting area to 170m², but increased the rent per m² by around 630% against the previous set-up. The return on investment for the whole project will be 4.5 years, and the shopping centre has experienced immediate benefits with a 3% increase in the number of visits between July and December 2016 compared to the same period in 2015.

Closure

With Cascais Kitchen, Sonae Sierra has not just given a new lease of life to an ailing part of a shopping centre – we have launched a new gastronomic concept in Portugal and created an area which offers an exceptional experience to visitors. The architectural design of the project, including materials, light, sound and vegetation, creates a distinctive and relaxing ambience that is unique in a shopping centre setting. Cascais Kitchen has proven to be financially profitable, it complements the existing tenant mix and restaurant offer of CascaiShopping and has been designed in a flexible format that benefits small-scale operators who can test new ideas. Last but not least, it is a concept that can be rolled out to other Sonae Sierra shopping centres.