Two favourites at the Scotia Square food court have been told to leave. Crombie REIT, which manages the mall, has given Ray’s Lebanese Cuisine and Taste of India until March 31 to vacate the premises.
“They told me yesterday,” says Ray Khattar. “I’ve been here 31 years, and I have never missed a rent payment, not one month.”
Ray’s had won The Coast’s Best of Halifax poll for “Best Falafel” so many times—13 years in a row—that we had to retire the category in 2007.
Khattar says that five months ago mall management came to him and said they had to double his rent. “I said, OK, let’s talk,” he says. “But nothing. Yesterday, when they told me, they gave me no options. They didn’t talk about raising the rent or moving me, nothing.”
Today, Khattar seems shell-schocked. He’s still serving food for a never-ending line of customers, and we squeeze in a bit more of the interview every time he makes it to the cash register. He says he hasn’t had time to think about what to do next, or if he might re-open elsewhere.
A Taste of India was also quite busy with a well-after-lunch crowd, and the owners didn’t have time to talk except to confirm that they, too, had been told to leave.
Crombie did not immediately return a call for comment.
Khattar says he was told Crombie is focusing on getting more franchised operations into the food court. That seems to be consistent with recent events: in 2011, PG’s was evicted in order to reconfigure the food court to accommodate a Tim Hortons outlet. Last week, a McDonald’s opened. Unconfirmed rumour on Twitter is that a Subway will replace Ray’s and Taste of India.
Count us among the extremely upset. Scotia Square’s was probably the best mall food court in the country, with interesting and varied local operations, and yet there seems to be a conscious effort to destroy that reputation. It’s beyond sad. It’s sick.
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This article appears in Jan 30 – Feb 5, 2014.
stupid corporate greed
maybe it’s cause I’m pregnant, but I might actually cry right now. ILU RAY!
WHY would we need another Subway with one on the waterfront and another on blowers?!
That sucks ,Scotia Square had the best food court so much variety ..
Boycot scotia square.
Blithering idiocy. Homogenization ahoy!
So shortsighted! Many of us are making a concerted effort to buy local. Why would we eat at Scotia Square if all we have to choose from are bland franchises?
Just sad
I go specifically to the Scotia Square food court to get A Taste of India food. I liked that Scotia Square had a food court with interesting ethnic food options! Very upset!
Scotia Square is nothing more than a pedway rest-point, no other reason now to even go. twits
So sad! Ray should talk to Armour Group about going into the new Waterside Centre when it opens – new location for the main branch of RBC and also EY’s new location.
So now the whole food court will smell like a loaf of bread puked all over the place. Subway is repulsive.
Need to be more corporate!
This is pretty sad. Crombie should be ashamed. I will do all within my power to make sure SS does not get my business in the future. They want to gut the local guys, let’s gut them back by refusing them our business. I used to live next door to the Taste of India guy. He is such a nice fella and has a lovely family. I hope they can reopen elsewhere. Pretty sad right now. Almost too sad to type a frowny emoticon 🙁
This is outrageous. Ray’s Lebanese serves the best food in town. I first met Ray when I was a NSCAD student on a tight budget in the mid-90s. NSCAD students could get a delicious chicken/potato/veggie salad wrap on pita for $2 (taxes in). He’s a wonderful man who cooks fabulous food. No one else in the city makes lentils and rice taste so good. I hope he finds a new location.
Both of these places were the only reason I ever went to Scotia Square. This kind of action makes me wonder why we don’t have laws that protect small local businesses. Quite clearly from this interview they weren’t even given the option to increase their rent – which they were doing well enough that they could discuss! And after 31 years of WORKING as a business, NOPE we need a subway. How can the people and city of Halifax really tolerate an action like this?
So the resolve is to boycott….don’t support the mall or the food court in protest this is simply wrong….but we the consumers are the only ones who can do anything about it
A sad day
Not only is this corporate greed but those businesses serve real food …unlike subway and McDonalds…what does that say
this is thoroughly disgusting…every place they are getting rid of has food that tastes the way it is supposed to, is healthy and relatively inexpensive. So that leaves Korean Gardens, Sushi, the Dill Pickle, skenky Chinese food, A&W, Pizza and the Turkish place. Well at least at these places you get good food for a reasonable price. Frig knows what we’re going to do if they kick any of these places out. Shame on Crombie!!! Dirty underhanded behaviour is to be expected though after what they did to P&G’s all to cater to gross coffee out of Tims
Give Donnie Clow a call in Stellarton to complain.
Scotia square is really far from being “the best food court in the country”, like REALLY REALLY far… however this is very unfair. The people at CROMBIE are really a-holes. Hope this bad karma gets back to them eventually.
Taste of India has great food! I will miss their Masala Dosas 🙁 Both those places had good options for vegetarians like me… all those choices will be reduced to only a veggie subway sub… 🙁
I’ll very much miss Taste of India. I guess I’ll also miss eating at Scotia Square since I have no plans to do that again, at least until their building comes under new property management. And cap reich can sit there and laugh their fool asses off until they realize that most of the clientele actually able to afford to spend money at this mall came there to eat at those two establishments.
What they’ll be left with are hood rat fast food junkies that will turn scotia square into a downtown cesspit. Right now it caters to mid-end professionals but start driving out the stores and restaurants that attract them and they WILL find somewhere else to go, even if they are working upstairs. What does that leave you with?
It seems like I’m blowing this out of proportion. But I’m not. This is EXACTLY how things like this work. Start removing the load bearing businesses that keep the BUYING class happy and they take their money elsewhere. Which means the quality of available businesses in that spot will suffer over time. And the quality of the shoppers will slide in tandem.
Another brilliant decision brought to you by the idiots at Cap Reich. These consistently bad decisions are why they have had to resort to driving rent up in the first place.
the worst
this is a travesty!
Bummer, first Scotia Square gets rid of the movie theatre and now this. One more strike and I’m out.
All new low, shameful. When I lived in Halifax I ate there at least once a week.
I’m so sad to see this! Both are great places – being pushed out to accommodate a sub shop with food we can get many other places in Halifax. I guess money talks more than providing a service to the people who eat there.
Sorry apparently it’s “Crombie Reich” now?
Is this some bastard hybrid of Crombie and cap riet?
SHAME ON THESE HEARTLESS PRICKS. What a disgustingly cold profit driven pack of hyenas. I’m just outraged at this and will be calling Crombie’s offices in Stellarton. Remember that this is the Sobey’s family and maybe, just maybe they will listen with enough attention by people in the community.
Crombie REIT
115 King Street
Stellarton, Nova Scotia
Canada
B0K 1S0
Tel. 902.755.8100
Didn’t the closing of Quizno’s and KFC show that chains aren’t necessarily good/successful tenants? A with those spaces + the Battered Fish spot why the need to evict two long time succesful tenants. We don’t need another Subway downtown or more FROYO. While adding Mickey D’s was good decision to have another anchor, keep the other chains in Halifax Shopping Centre or Mic Mac, not downtown.
Stuffed my gob at both of these places many a time. Not only is a shame cause the food is great, but it eradicates some of the healthier options for those that work there and those that simply love to eat something that isn’t wood-chip infused beef or whatever is happening with fast food burgers these days.
Seriously… fuck subway.
Hooray for mediocrity! But seriously, forcing out two very well regarded businesses for purveyors of the most insipid food out there is a shot to the foot.
Email sent too:
Hello,
I am writing about Halifax’s Scotia Square food court and the recent news that Ray’s and A Taste of India are being forced out of their locations. I normally don’t write to complain about things like this but let me assure you I am nothing short of outraged and disgusted at the way Crombie is treating these small mainstays of the local economy and in fact whether you believe it or not, anchor tenants of the food court.
This has got to be one of the most disgusting displays of greedy cold hearted decision-making I’ve seen in this region in a long time. Keep in mind I’m an experienced business person and I’ve seen my fair share of tough dealing. I’m not a kid on the street with little experience.
Again, what a terrible, rotten decision by Crombie. I urge you to reverse it and allow Ray’s and A Taste of India to stay where they are. I can further assure you that if they lose their leases in the food court that will be the last penny I’ll ever spend in Scotia Square.
I’m not alone in this outrage.
Sincerely,
John van Gurp
Halifax
No joke, I am on the verge of tears…eff you corporate a**holes!
My husband and I eat at Taste of India or Rays at least twice weekly, my daughter and son in law, even more so. A friend of ours that moved to Toronto says that what he misses most about Halifax is “Taste of India”
It is, hands down, the best food in the city.
Thanks for evicting amazing, popular, LOCAL businesses and replacing them with GARBAGE!
NO reason to go to Scotia Square now. Brilliant move, assholes.
Shitty. No more going to SS food court to eat during Tattoo Rehearsals… Maybe Ray should get a food truck and park it down the street…
Nothing changes. Back in the 60’s my grandfather’s successful shop was expropriated to build Scotia Square. We need variety with local unique shops! Soon it will be rows of Cosctos and MacDonalds
someone needs to get a petition going!!!!
Blah blah blah. Want to do something with deeper significance than post complaints on web page? Stage a boycott. Money talks – YOUR money.
No need to get emotional about it, just vote with your wallet. What it’s going to take is for you to make a commitment to never, ever buy food from franchises. Either pack a lunch, find a local spot, or go hungry. Drink more water to fill you up. Seriously. Vote with your wallet, the message will be heard pretty quickly. The mall is just doing what it thinks will make it the most money. Teach them that they are wrong.
This is outrageous! Sick of corporate giants pushing the lil guy out!
I would suggest that everyone that used to eat down there stop purchasing their food and bring your own or go outside to purchase it. Corporate greed has to stop. Also post posters up everywhere in the mall showing your support for small enterprises.
congratulations, scotia square. now i have absolutely no reason to ever go there again. fuck you very much.
This is absolutely outrageous!! I would 1000x rather enjoy a delicious meal from A Taste of India (mango lassies are amazing there!) or Ray’s Lebanese Cuisine than another Subway! Don’t we need a bit more variety? And now Crombie is not only taking that away from us but a business owned by hardworking people who’ve built up a great reputation, not just a franchise! So upset to see this. Hopefully Crombie pays attention and maybe changes their tune. Going against the little guys is not a good way of doing business.
I would encourage anyone to order a grilled chicken pita from Ray and a “grilled” chicken flatbread from Subway. Take a bite of each and make your own decision. There is no reason to eat a crappy processed flavourless subway garbage wrap when Ray’S is around, which is why they want Ray gone.
R.Manson
Horrible decision.
I LOVE the idea of both to get food trucks and park outside and see who gets more business.
With so many options within walking distance of the mall, why would you bother when all the interesting places are gone for places you can eat at in ANY mall in the city?
I’m not sure boycotting the entire mall is the answer. Wouldn’t that just hurt the local retailers who are there now. Wouldn’t it be better to boycott the chains that are moving in when they arrive?
Places like Ray’s and TOI were the whole point of that food court! Without them there is no way I would make the trek from the other end of barrington at lunch, which I do now regularly.
WHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?! GAHHHHHHH!!
C’mon folks, lets be serious. Most of the schlubs waddling down from the towers could really give a fuck. A year from now… so fucking what.
I too am very upset! Ray is a wonderful caring person. He has worked hard his whole life and has wonderful food! It is ridiculous that they have done this! I don’t know if there is anything one can do to stop this! I am thinking maybe a facebook petition?? He will need a new location, one that is geared around weekday businesses. Any suggestions?
I have worked in an office building off scotia square for 6 years. The only redeeming quality of this place was the food court. It was the one thing I could point to with pride about working in such a shitty building. Ray’s and Taste of India are by far my favorite places, third would have been PG’s(I still miss the seasoned potatoes). I will miss the chicken combo, samosas , and the genuinely friendly owners of both places. SS management is screwing the pooch. After 6 years seeing then run this hole I am not surprised. I hope any chains that come in fail, and that anybody kicked out opens up near by.
If not, then I pray my company smartens the F up and gets out of this craptastic square of concrete. Working hear sucks the soul enough without having some dickwads take the best places we have around to fill it back up during the day away. F
The only good thing about Scotia Square was the food court!!!!!! This seems like a foolish business decision and backwards thinking!
This is very sad. Ray makes the best chicken wraps ever! This is not fair these loyal merchants or their customers!
If only they had built the new farmer’s market at the other end of town (Scotia Square’s end of town), it would be a legitimate place for local food vendors to sell to the business crowd.
Letter to Lease manager
Just wanted to let you know that I go a few times a month to have a massage at Sore Spots located in the adjoining hotel. I always pick up supper for my family at Taste of India. Most times I would stroll through the mall prior to ordering, stopping in to shop at various stores. It was always refreshing to find real food at real prices with really nice people in such a depressing mall. It has become somewhat of a family tradition that we always looked forward to and have been doing for probably over 10 years
I will be making it a point of NOT strolling through the mall and spending my money here now as my protest. It won’t be hard because NOTHING else really draws me to this mall anyway …just the amazing food!
Very sad that corporate is not able to foresee the movement towards real food access is being desired by more people. It is a GROWING market and the fast food market is dying…BUT I guess big business is often short sighted!
Sad that they wouldn’t even negotiate…. says so much about Sobeys!
Ray, to hell with Scotia Square and Crombie. Go open your shop somewhere else and people will go there. I know I will. Your food is top-notch.
Sad news, but a few contrarian points to balance out the boiling hysteria, just for fun:
– First off, I love Ray’s, Taste of India, Korea Garden, Kebab Kitchen, etc. – mostly fantastic proprietors and staff and great food. The food court itself is a grim and foully institutional space that resembles a feeding pen; contrary to Bousquet’s characterization, it would only be “the best in the country” if you’d eaten lunch in a file storage area for years. It is awful and beige and is now totally bereft of natural light: if you want to rage against anything, rage against that. “Greed” may be defined here as “requiring capital to make the space look less 1997 and more functional,” in which case I guess it’s greed.
– If a sampling of people outraged about this decision on social media represented actual local buying patterns, none of this would be happening, and Ray would be expanding instead of leaving. Ray obviously has a very loyal customer base, but only a handful of people (the odd call centre clerk, NSCAD student, etc.) stop by after 3pm. The McDonald’s that has been open for one month has a lineup three or four deep until 7pm nightly. The summer will see a flood of tourists from adjacent hotels who do not trust anything they haven’t seen before. Scotia Square is not the Hydrostone or Kensington Market. These are all facts, given the location and demographics in the area. There is business sense to making the food court more mass-market.
– Ray is obviously a savvy businessman. If he is not interested in retirement, he will inevitably find a new place in downtown Halifax, no more or less distant for 90% of his regular customers. If the groundswell of support he enjoys is legitimate and translates into actual purchases (and not just Facebook nostalgia for The Way It Used To Be), he will do just fine for years to come, and no one will in fact miss out on his falafels, which are indeed delicious.
It sucked when the Battered Fish closed in December for the same reason, but they’re similarly moving onward and upward, because they have a business model that isn’t dysfunctional and because people like their product.
Subway sucks. Fresh ingredients my ass. Precut lettuce in bags and frozen onion slices are not fresh.
This is what I wrote to Tori Jarvis – Join in folks….
Dear Ms Jarvis,
I am writing to express my outrage over the forced eviction of Ray’s and Taste of India.
I am a teacher with a husband and two children. When we come into Halifax for the day, we ALWAYS head to Scotia Square. Why? Is the allure of the dime a dozen Rietmans? Perhaps we had missed our chance at one of the dozens of Starbucks in town? No, we go for something special, something real and something ONLY Scotia Square HAD. Real ethnic food, served by families for families.
I am almost in tears that you have failed to take into account relationships in your business model. In this cookie cutter world of monotony and corporate repetition, what Ray’s and Taste of India has done for your business is something other property agencies can only dream of achieving: a loyal, growing customer base that cannot be replicated by any chain shop.
And think of the advertising dollars you have spent on Ray’s and Taste of India. Oh, what’s that? No advertising dollars? No investment in their store frontage? No print or , god forbid, social media advertising? That’s right – the success of these two businesses has come about from word of mouth. Good old fashioned word of mouth.
Crombie – REIT – Sobey’s family – I think you are about to find out just how powerful the WORD of MOUTH really is.
I wish your enterprise a change of heart ( or at least business model). Until then, my family are no longer patrons of Scotia Square.
I know the stalls downtown is my favorite place when I go to Halifax
perhaps a petition to force management to relent or at the least, give a better explanation
I get Ray’s every day for lunch. Medium chicken pita w/ saurkraut, rice/lentils and tomato. Best you can get for $5.75. Subway can’t compete with that. They’re formed-chicken footlong pretty much costs 10$.
I won’t be going to Scotia Square any longer and I likely won’t be the only one exercising my consumer’s rights.
When PG’s was kicked out, that is when the food court died for me sadly. Crombie are fools, the only thing that saved The Square was the food court, no? What then Dollarama, The Source?
I hope everyone who is upset at this calls the admin office and not only complains but to also tell them that they will not shop there anymore. The other option is for people to get together and picket the mall. Nothing gets more attention then people picketing.
Crombie has ruined most of the properties they’ve been involved with – they have no interest in anything that will keep consumers shopping for extended periods of time – just in and out, mass produced crap that appeals to kids who can’t look up from their iPhones long enough to see what is around them. They’ll drive out all of the stores that appeal to the adults who are funding the shopping trips and fill it with crap for the <18 crowd with nothing but high visibility, high recognition franchises. They'd rather operate a mall that looks dead because no one stays in the building for more than 10 minutes beyond their purchase unless they work there. The longer people stay - the high their cost to operate (security, maintenance, cleaners, administrative staff).
Rays is one of my favorite places to eat. Not only is the food delicious and its actually healthy but Ray knows your name and the name of your kids and what you order every time you come.That is terrible to close them after 31 years for another franchise!!!! Ray Please move elsewhere as I know everyone who has ever tried your food will follow you.
For all the fans of Ray’s and Taste of India out there, make sure to show your support for them until their last day at Scotia Square. I happen to have meetings at SS twice next week, and I’m planning to stop by both shops! I’m very sorry to learn that they’ve been forced out, but I’m not surprised – Crombie does this to businesses all over the place, even medical clinics. Remember: Crombie = Sobeys! Express your disgust with these twits whenever you can, including avoiding Sobeys if possible. Crombie is doing its usual thing… but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing.
I wrote this to Tori Jarvis:
Hi Tori,
I am just adding my voice as one of many that will be telling you in the next few days that they will never step foot in Scotia Square again after how your company has egregiously mistreated your long-time tenants and evicted them from their successful business locations.
The only reason myself and a lot of people go to that food court is because of the ethnic food that is far superior to the run-of-the-mill food courts elsewhere in the city. Fast food franchises are incredibly passé and you are guaranteed to lose a lot of business due to this extremely misguided decision. I understand you may feel it will have little to no impact as you have a captive audience in the office workers nearby but there is much to be said about word-of-mouth and without a doubt the other businesses in Scotia Square will suffer as a result of reduced traffic from other demographics.
I would wish you all the best of luck, but you don’t deserve it after crushing the livelihood of your tenants.
Stupid move, Crombie. That food court attracted many people to SS, when there was nothing else left to attract anyone. PG’s, Ray’s and Taste of India were the three vendors I used to patronize when I worked in Duke Tower. Crombie is turning SS into a disaster – there are no decent shops left, the parking garage is a disaster, the offices are “sick”, and now they’ve killed a thriving food court. I am so disappointed.
I am completely appalled at this decision. It’s obvious that Crombie REIT cares much more about money than their customers. I’m still pissed from when they booted PG’s out in 2011 and I’m ready to boy-cot the Scotia Square Food Court if they continue to get rid of the independent food establishments. No one else makes awesome food and gives good customer service the way these guys do. BOOOO!! to Crombie REIT and “courage” to these small establishments who make up such a valuable part of our local economy and who deserve much better than this crap.
“vendors I used to patronize when I worked in Duke Tower”
How many people return to patronize the vendors when their employer moves out to Bayers Lake? Who will kick up the stink and refuse to submit to the sprawl that leads to things like this happening?
Bad business decision Crombie! I’m not going to pay for parking to eat at a big franchise eating place, I can get that for free elsewhere. Have you not realised that people are moving away from fast food? Did you do any marketing, segmenting or did you go for just the quick money grab? Don’t bother answering, it is rhetorical. I for one will never eat at SS or park at SS. The mall is pretty sadly populated already except for Ray’s and TOI, now prepare for nothing.
So, the only thing that Scotia Square could have claimed as an advantage over other leased space in town is being eliminated. I though the goal was to attract tenants? McDonalds and Subway both smell so bad I cross the street to avoid them outdoors!! (is that Subway bun dough from Planet Earth, or the same place McDonalds “All Beef Meats” patties are from).
Looks like this Food Court is to be another corporate swamp of pseudo food. I would never rent space for my company in ScoSq now. Can we call it Class C?
He needs a good lawyer
If you think Scotia Square has the best food court in the country, you need to travel more.
customers will search again,, wherever the shop shifted too.. because of taste & hygienic food….. “now world is concentrating about the Health”…
if no health no wealth. All the best.
venkatesh.
100% true
Here’s an idea: Visit every other business in the mall and tell them how sad you are about this, and that you’ll probably never be back to Scotia Square. It’s one thing for the Crombie zombies to hear it from the two affected businesses and their customers, but maybe if ALL of the OTHER businesses express concern these idiots will think twice about the actual business impacts.
He should get a food truck, park it outside SS every day and feed his loyal customers. Boo Scotia Square!
Y the Kicked out a local business and who is responsible for that?
Wow. Let’s double people’s rent. That’s reasonable, right? And Ray’s is healthy and so delicious. I’ve gotten it as take out to being to visitors from out of town and they literally just can’t believe how tasty it is.
Ray, I suggest you leave this small town and go to Queen W Toronto, where there is a lack of anything edible and an Art College near-by.
Then turn yourself into a franchise and make a million dollars. The world needs more food like your’s Ray. Do not let this be a defeat. It’s outrageous and stupid, but hopefully it propels you and brings you an even higher level of success.
A very sad day when you cut family run businesses. Both of these places have a long standing tradition….yes tradition. Who cares about fast food. This is good food and good people. My thoughts as well. Move your business and your loyal fans will follow. SS doesn’t deserve good people like the two of you. I no longer live in Halifax but remember these two restaurants well from my days there. TRADITION you hear! what in the world is this place coming to. McDonalds Subway…why lower your standards…shame on you.
As a metro transit bus driver we send a few hundred drivers through that food court every week, being a bus terminal, our company has been trying to promote healthy life styles, having places like Ray’s and “A Taste of India” removed for other fast food style food places is just wrong in this day and age, Crombie you should really take a hard look at where these customers are coming from to have lunch and healthy meals, Purdy’s towers, duke towers, banks and other professional white collar jobs, it’s not Walmart down on Barrington st, come-on, USE YOUR HEALTHY HEADS on these decisions
now I have no reason to go to Scotia Square. After March 31. Asinine!
Crombie doesn’t surprise me a bit anymore. A selfish just for money sobeys empire. Remember this anytime you buy from sobeys or fast fuel that you are helping a company that doesn’t care about anybody or anything but how to maximize their profit. You ask me for solution, just buy local.
i go to the taste of india place all the time. The owner was almost always there working, sometimes with his family.
Around 5 years ago i got on the bus to head back home from dal and the owner was asleep on the bus heading home from work. Pretty sad that now hes getting evicted to make way for a McDonalds… Its not like hes going to be able to find a new location.
As with most others here, TOI and especially Ray’s is my favourite part of going through Scotia Square. It’s usually a dreaded trip after fighting for parking until you get into the food court and see Ray’s welcoming smile.
Great job Crombie, wonderful PR. Fail.
I am so done with Scotia Square.
Scotia Square nemyss that people who have a business and after kakoce to live after the cancellation of a business that is not fine people of Scotia Square becomes disgusting toje shame WHAT IS BEING DONE and reversed him their business ashamed hi there Scotia Square shit one Scotia Square shit one
As a NSCAD student, having no money but good food values, both of these places fed me well body and soul. It is shameful that a progressive foodie city like Halifax should fail in such an epic way by loosing both of these establishments.
To Taste of India and Ray’s – THANK YOU FOR EVERY MEAL YOU EVER GAVE ME.
FOOD TRUCKS! FOOD TRUCKS! FOOD TRUCKS! FOOD TRUCKS!!!!!!!
Forcing out successful, local small businesses that make a quality product to “make way for more franchises”… wow. Add me to the list of people that will never set foot inside of Scotia Square again. Crombie REIT should be ashamed of themselves. I want to support companies that support my community and will not give business to a property management company that does not support those values. Every other tenant in that facility should be beating down the door of Crombie REIT and explain to them how what they are doing is not only immoral, but it is going to hurt every other business in the facility.
I work across the street from SS. I eat at Ray’s very often, sometimes thrice in a week. He knows my face, he knows my order, and I always enjoy the experience. If Ray finds another location, you can be damn sure I’ll go there.
The good news here, though, is now I have an ethical reason to bring my own lunch every day, and not just a financial one. PGs was bad enough. This is the last straw.
The only reasons to go to SS are now gone. Smart move.
I used to work at SS and loved Rays,PG’s and a Taste of India for all the fresh lovingly prepared food I enjoyed there.I am so stunned and saddened to hear this.I know longer live in Halifax but I travel home at least every 2 years and I can tell you that I will no longer go to Scotia Square or shop at Sobeys when I’m in Halifax ever again,I really hope Ray’s et al, can find another outlet as I’ll be sure to seek them out.I wish all the best to the unjustly ousted tenants and I hope you are able to relocate.I for one will find you.REIT/Crombie you should be MORE than ashamed of yourselves! There are no words to describe my disgust.
I went to PG’s for years. Even after I stopped working in Halifax I always managed to get to Scotia Square so I could have an excuse to eat at PG’s. Honestly haven’t spent a dime in that Mall since….no reason to go there. I called management when they were evicting them but obviously it didn’t do any good.
I moved to Ontario in 2005 but whenever I come home I still visit scotia square food court. If it becomes all franchise I have no more reason to go there. The person making those decisions should be fired. What an idiot!
Unbelievable!!!! Wishing Ray and his staff all the best in finding a new home! I think your fans will follow you….oops too,bad for the already struggling retailers there now….another reason not to shop there. How very sad for us!
It is time to cancel my parking , yeaaay!
I eat my lunch 3-4 times a week at ‘The Taste of India’ The owner/staff are so welcoming and friendly. Every time i buy lunch, i felt that i am eating home-made food. Damn you Crombie, 1 less customer for you.
this is just terrible news for me i just love that place and the taste of india ,rays lebanese i cant believe this ,as far as macdonalds i hate that garbage food and there are enough subways already . i guess i wont have much reason to go to scotia square any more
The irony clearly not lost on the number of people commenting here who have moved away from Halifax and not eaten at the food court (assuming that includes Ray’s and Taste of India) more than once a year since.
I e-mailed Tori.
I urge people that are outraged to do the same. I’ll probably even call her during the week!
Tori Jarvis
Leasing Manager
Phone:
(902) 474-6603
Fax: (902) 429-7785
Celluar: (902) 229-6233
E-mail: tori.jarvis@crombie.ca
What the hell?!?!? Starving for money. It’s sad, all the good small businesses are getting closed down and for what, reminds me of Kel’s Deli that closed in Dartmouth. There are plenty of Tim Hortons, McDonalds and Subways around. To get rid of something that isn’t anywhere else to replace it with something that is everywhere is down right stupid.
Typically Chombie….we had 2 stores in a Mall in N.B. and we used to say “if they( Crombies )could find a way to shoot themselves in their foot they would find a way….I can’t imagine who is running the company….they make so many “give your head a shake” decisions….to the people being evicted….go..run…in the long run you will be so much better off !!
Crombie is not thinking of all the foreign students that crowd the place at lunch, who mainly seem to eat at these two places – and their language school rents space in SS. Not very smart of Crombie to do this.
Is there anything even in scotia square, anyway? I mean, it used to have a movie theatre, pet store, zellers, radio shack, hobby store, bookstore, record AND CD store…etc.
This totally sucks! 🙁
If people are serious about their anger they would boycot Sobey’s.
This is going to come across as snobbish, but late’s face it is, the people who are making this decision are from Stellarton, where if a Subway’s came to town it would be a big deal, a good thing. Halifax has now reached the size where we have most of the chains/franchises in abundance (except Ikea, wish we were big enough for an Ikea), and now I think (happily so!) the citizens see the value in promoting local, quality businesses… which Ray’s and ToI are. These guys increase the attraction value of Scotia Square, not decrease it. And since Sobey’s moto was “Hometown Proud”, I hope Crombie finds away to make this right. If not, I won’t boycott Scotia Square (I can’t, I live and work across the street), but I will boycott Sobey’s.
When PG left I was so dissapointed. It was my favorite place to eat.at Scotia Square sence then isn’t the same place to me.More shops to go? Will the Dollar Store be next? If that happeneds I will not be coming back again.Right now I do shop here every second Friday but any more of my regular shops/food court stores close I WILL be gone. That will be the time I will tell people not to bother shopping here anymore because there isn’t anything left worth while to make the trip for, so I will tell them to go to Halifax Shopping Center or Spring Garden Place instead.
Hi folks – let’s see if we can get some momentum behind this:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-rays-falafel-and-indian-buffet-in-scotia
Chain franchises suck big time. I NEVER go to Timmies, McD’s orSubway. Or any other chain crap restaurant. Individuality is better. Places like Rays and India are going the way of many small businesses in the face of corporate giants. This is not good for anybody.
Just what Halifax needs – another Subway. Scotia Square has one of the best food courts in the city and they want to turn it into another mix of boring – generic franchise garbage. I have relatives who visit the city and cannot leave without visiting Rays! It’s the only reason they would ever step foot in Scotia Square. I hope he opens somewhere else because he wont have any trouble finding a new home.
I’m of the minority here – every time I’ve eaten at Ray’s I have been told what I’m ordering and it was shoved at me. It was also greasy, fatty and tasted bad. I love international flavours, but to call it healthy is just not true.
Don’t get me wrong – I hate (!) food chains – If every McDonalds spontaneously combusted, I’d be the first in line to roast marshmallows over the charred embers, but I’m more upset about Taste of India than Ray’s.
Fact is, though, non-renewal is a lot different that eviction. March 31 is two months from now. Eviction is usually within two weeks. The title is misleading and a scaremongering tactic being used to stir the pot. If people are TRULY outraged, posting on a blog or in a comment section like this will do nothing.
Go to the source – call, email and stop by HDL’s offices in the Scotia Square Mall and let your voices really be heard by the people who actually make these decisions.
Not all, of these posts are truthful.
Someone said that they saw the owner of Taste of India ( one of my favs, FTR) on the bus headed home and asleep. The owner lives within a five minute walk.
Let’s be honest people.
Here is another petition!!
https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/scotia-square-mall-halifax-keep-ray-s-and-taste-of-india-open
Yesterday I delivered a letter to Crombie-REIT explaining that I will no longer spend any money at Scotia Square, either in the shops or the food court (after March 31…I will continue going to Ray’s, Taste of India, and Mama Gratti’s until then). I’m going to deliver the same letter to each of the vendors that will be losing my business next time I’m there.
It would be interesting to see how celeb chef and healthy/local food movement supporter Jamie Oliver feels about all this. Sobey’s it seems only champions the local food movement when it benefits them financially. Shame on them.
Makes sense? franchises contribute to the economy.employment for youth etc.put out your resume,bet you won’t get hired at some foreign food outlet.
I don’t agree with losing local, but seriously, this food is AWFUL. Greasy and gross. The reason everyone here thinks its so great is that there is nothing here to compare it to. Eat Lebanese food in Montreal or Toronto and you’ll be ashamed of how great you thought this place was. This entire food court is shoddy with cheap and crappy as the main ingredients. Don’t get me started on the mexican and Indian offerings in this town – I just feel embarrassed for the people who go on about how great it is.
What’s next Crombie a Wal-Mart in SS? Nothing says Halifax like Ray’s. In all fairness I have never had TOI’s food but any time I am in SS the line ups I see are for these two fantastic places. It’s unfortunate that smarter minds don’t prevail here and Combie offer Ray’s either another location (you lease half the city!) or show a little client service and have a discussion after 31 years! Very disappointing but will search Ray’s out if he re-locates and hope you do…God Bless!
You know how there’s always more to a story? There you go: http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/1048854/p…
FIY, Ray’s has reopened at a new location. 75 Akerley in Burnside. Same friendly people, same divine food.