Staffers man the salad station at Richtree (Photo by Rupert Taylor-Price)
Mövenpick Marché, the European-style self-serve restaurant, is returning to Toronto on January 25 after a six-year absence caused by a nasty legal dispute with franchisee Jorg Reichert. The company is taking back the space it once held in Brookfield Place (formerly BCE Place) from current tenant Richtree Market, and Mövenpick’s parent company intends to open at least 10 locations in the GTA under various names. Richtree’s closure will not affect the other locations.
But since both Richtree and Mövenpick serve food in a marketplace atmosphere—and since many Torontonians still refer to Richtree outlets as Mövenpicks—nearby office workers probably won’t notice the difference.
• This Just In: Mövenpick Marché Returning to Toronto, Bumping Richtree from Flagship Location [Taste TO]
To Gordon Greenwood (professoinal spin doctor for Movenpick I assume?) As an MBA and a person who worked for the most successful companies in Canada and Europe, I disagree with your statement “whether an employee stayed with a company thru ‘thick & thin’ has no market value what so ever.” Employees are company’s asset and it is the employees and their loyalty which makes a company successful. If workers apply the same principle to the company as you mentioned, they will leave at times when the company needs the most. eg when the economy is good and there is fierce competition and high pay. Faced with employee who see their jobs as nothing as a pay cheque (applying your principle that EVERYTHING is about money), a company will not survivie. Judging by your philosophy you represent the worst type of employer and manager with short sight and no long term vision. Perhaps your children will abandon one day because you will represent a burden to their strive to the fittest? I work to live, I don’t live to work, maybe you should live a little too.
February 8, 2010 at 1:55 pm | by JamesHey James,
Probably, the university that gave you your “MBA” degree is running from a run-down basement near Landsdown subway station. What most successful companies did you work for?? With these ideas they hired you in Europe??? You want people to believe your BS???
Here we are talking about a company that is doomed by internal politics & inefficient management and the workers left were all in very unskilled professions such as busboy, dish washer, cashier, hostess, kitchen help, sales help (marketeer, etc. Read my earlier posts – 99.9% of skilled ex-Richtree/Movenpickers left the company when the financial downturn of the Canadian master-franchisee started. Get some knowledge on how a franchise works!
Ofcourse, employees are assets as long as they keep their skill levels upgraded. It’s the visionary leaders that made companies great. Go & read your cases in your MBA program once again! What grades did you get in subjects like Entreprenearship, Strategic Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Advanced Accounting – D Minus???
Don’t preach me about what my childred would do… I wonder wether your children have abandoned you already. You live to “work” – where? In your dad’s hotdog-stall by Union Station???
Do you watch business news in TV? How many “loyal” workers were laid-off by the BIG three automakers in recent months? Did you go to the auto-plants to preach your message to the laid-off workers?
Gordon Greenwood
February 17, 2010 at 1:49 pm | by Gordon GreenwoodI just went to Marche for the first time since Movenpick took back ownership. I have been a patron of the restaurant at the BCE Place location since the 1990′s. Sad to say, I will never return after the horrible experience I had this past Sunday evening. First off, the hostess was rude, pretentious and when I tried to ask a question, she just walked off after seating myself and my guest (from out of town, I was hyping up this place to him for a long time) in what she described as “claustrophobic” herself. She sat us in the “Sweedish Hut” with a family of about 4 children who were making flatulent noises, running around and on the other side of the window form our table, another family with children that were banging at the window at us. Our table was also in a tiny corner even though there were about 5 other empty larger tables the hostess could have sat us at.
December 22, 2010 at 4:07 pm | by Very AngryWhat really upset me was everything that made Movenpick Marche unique, was taken away and replaced with what looked like Ikea cafeteria decor. All the fun decor and beautiful art was gone.
The food stations were all rearranged which had absolutely no flow like it used to.
I started off with what I always do, the Rosti.
The woman behind the Rosti counter seemed like she hated her job and when I asked for one, gave me a Rosti that was already made (not fresh like advertised!) and it was drowned in a pool of grease. To top it off, it was cold and undercooked. This truly ruined my appetite and my guest had described his chicken dinner as worse than going to Swiss Chalet. The prices have gone up, the quality and service WAAAAAYY down.
When I went to the cashier to pay, I made my complaint about the Rosti and had to wait for the manager to come speak to me. His name was Gabriel and he gave me excuse after excuse that sounded like it came from some written speech they’re told to say with NO APOLOGY whatsoever.
He removed only my Rosti and didn’t offer to remove my guest’s meal or give anything in order to keep our business.
He even took a phone call at the cashier while processing our cheque, and therefore didn’t thank us, didn’t apologize or even wish us a good night.
I was completely embarrassed to have hyped up this restaurant to my guest all this time, when instead it was a waste of money, a waste of a night out, and certainly a waste of time and frustration.
All the staff seem unhappy (except the server at the drinks counter was polite) and nothing like the previous staff when it was the original Movenpick Marche or even when Richtree owned the restaurant. The lack of quality in the food for the over pricing is disgusting and can make anyone lose their appetite. The cheap simple cafeteria decor is just awful.
I will NEVER go back and the management should be ashamed of themselves to let go a patron of over 20 years.
For shame indeed.
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October 6, 2011 at 12:27 am | by james