Marcello’s chain coming to town

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/07/2009 (6286 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A chain of European-styled market/deli food stores has leased some high-visibility space in Manitoba Hydro’s new downtown office tower.

Ottawa-based Marcello’s Market & Deli is renting 3,422 square feet of main-floor space on the Portage Avenue and Carlton Street corner of the $278-million Hydro tower.

The outlet, which will feature a combination of fresh produce, grocery and deli items plus freshly prepared take-out, is the first Marcello’s in Winnipeg. It’s to open in January.

Marcello’s is the second retail tenant to lease space in the 22-storey Hydro building, which is nearing completion.

The Royal Bank was the first, and its new 8,592-square-foot branch is to open July 25 on the northwest (Portage and Edmonton Street) corner.

Although the Royal won’t be moving for another few weeks, a new tenant has already been found for the one-storey building it’s vacating at 333 Portage Ave.

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is leasing that building for a year and plans to use it as studio space for its 2010 Winter Olympics coverage, marketing director Sky Bridges said Monday.

“We only leased it because we needed additional studio space (for the Olympics),” Bridges said. “So this is just a one-time shot.”

Because APTN has its headquarters next door at 339 Portage Ave., network officials were pleased to be able to rent the bank building, Bridges said.

“It worked out perfectly. All we have to do is cut a hole in the wall to move people back and forth (between the two buildings).”

Marcello’s president Fadi Kachi said the company had been trying for three years to break into the Winnipeg market, and had been negotiating with Hydro for two years.

“We can’t wait. We’re very excited about this,” Kachi said in an interview from the company’s corporate head office in Ottawa.

He said the new outlet could be the first of several in the city for Marcello’s.

“We’ll see how the first one does and take it from there. But based on the size of Winnipeg, I think there could be more than one.”

He said Marcello’s strategy is to open its food stores in office or government buildings, rather than in shopping malls or in a stand-alone building of its own.

Marcello’s, in business since 1996, has more than 20 stores in Canada, including 12 in Ottawa, five in Toronto, three in Alberta, two in Montreal and one that opened last week in Vancouver.

Although it caters mainly to takeout customers, the new Winnipeg outlet will include a 40-to-45-person seating area.

The store will employ 12 to 20 people, and will be open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its offerings will include fresh fruits, soups, coffees and other beverages, salads and deli sandwiches, and a hot-and-cold buffet.

Manitoba Hydro spokesman Jim Peters said there are still about 14,000 square feet of main floor retail space and 2,700 square feet of second-floor retail space left to rent.

He said talks are ongoing with other prospective tenants. He declined to identify them, but did say another restaurant or coffee shop will likely be added.

“I know that we’re aggressively pursuing it (finding other tenants for the building),” he said.

Peters wouldn’t disclose lease rates, but Hydro’s website advertised undeveloped space in the building for $16 net, plus $12.75 in additional charges.

Peters added that most of the approximately 2,000 Hydro employees who will be working in the building have already moved in.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca