A new concept in elevated mall cuisine is opening Thursday inside Oakridge Park in Vancouver. The Time Out Market food hall features 20 carefully curated take-away restaurants, three bars, and seating for more than 1,000 people inside and on the patio. “Time Out Market is essentially the evolution of what the traditional food court is,” said general manager Julien Lavoie, adding “The best part about Time Out is we tell the stories of these chefs, of these restaurants.” Several of the featured chefs are local culinary legends. Rob Feenie is serving up burgers in the market, and Vikram Vij’s menu at Peacock includes fishy curry, chicken korma and samosa chaat salad. “You’ve got some great neighborhood gems like DownLow Chicken or Lunch Lady, these iconic places that really represent neighborhoods. And then you’ve got the up and coming, people like Beaucoup Bakery. We’ve got Santo Taco, who are barely a year old and doing some of the best Mexican food in Vancouver,” said Lavoie. While the food at the market is elevated, Lavoie says the prices are not. “Time Out is specifically designed to be approachable. It is priced, I think, very fairly for what you’re getting,” he said. Time Out is marketed as a way to sample cuisine from top local chefs in a casual setting for between $15 and $30. “We want to become an extension of people’s living rooms, of people’s kitchens,” said Lavoie. The first Time Out Market opened in Lisbon, Portugal in 2014. Vancouver is the company’s 14th location worldwide and second in Canada. “This is years in the making, with literally millions of man hours on this project. So, we’re extremely, extremely excited. It feels surreal, to be honest with you. It feels surreal that we’re finally opening,” Lavoie said. Many stores in the new Oakridge Park Mall are opening Thursday as well. The hope is that diners will want to shop, and shoppers will stay to eat at drink. “You know, it works in both of our favours,” said Lavoie. “It’s been a great partnership.”
