What Happened to the Phase III Food Court at West Edmonton Mall? - Best Edmonton Mall 

Poor West Ed... Sure it's still amazing, but there seems to be a pattern happening with each renovation; "Stripped of Character" is the theme they're going for.

as odd as it seems ive been missing the old food court recently. it had so much character and had good aesthetics. i could never find any images of what it used to look like. thank you so much for making this video! keep up the great work!

The original food court was actually much lighter than it looked in the photos I took at night... In daylight there was a lot of light entering from skylights above which would pass through the open mezzanine area for the Café Europa on the second floor. I took most of the Phase 3 food court pictures and video at night because I loved how the restaurant signs and *_WEM_* neon lights at the top of the columns looked in the dim light, reflecting off the mirrored ceiling. Often played cards and backgammon here well past midnight, and the background noise of the arch fountains was the only sound once all the vendors were shut for the night, and the place would empty of people. It was a great place. When I saw the fountains off and the machine demolishing the main fountain in February, 2014, I knew it was all over. Now there is "Star Trek" theme, and it might as well be a casino, because without any skylights, it could be noon or midnight, and nothing changes. This video can give you an idea of how it was at night in the original WEM Phase 3 food court: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_CBZa1dRpXM.html

It feels like Im eating in a basement. I liked it better the way it was, had natural lighting and colour

I really fucking miss the old west Edmonton mall.

I certainly preferred the prior incarnation of this food court. I don't know if it was the higher ceiling or the sounds of the water, but it never seemed overwhelmingly loud, as it always does now.

I remember everything in this video quite well. The food court as it was, the McDonald's seating, the claustrophobic escalator right next to that McDonald's heading up to Red's Rec Room upstairs. Even the arcade that you didn't touch on in the background of the photo of the fountain in the food court. I also remember watching a helicopter lower the IMAX screen into the brand new Silver City back in 98/99 - and I even saw Star Wars: Episode I in that same theatre when it opened! Your videos give me nostalgia overload, and I love it!

I always felt that the old Foodcourt was brighter because it had the sunlight from the open area above. I cannot stand being in the renovated foodcourt because the lack of sun makes me feel claustrophobic. EDIT: also, the low ceiling might be a factor as well. I will go to the other foodcourt because of it. And the fact we only have ONE McDonalds now really sucks because that little McDonalds in always has a line.

Its so weird. I live in the edmonton area and remember going to the mall every other day with my family as a child and i can only faintly remember most of these things. This is such a blast to the past thanks for making this video man its actually super nostalgic seeing the mall this way

I miss the old food court so, so much, incredibly powerful nostalgia seeing these clips and photos. My dad used to take me to the mall as a kid in the early 2000's for movies or Playdium and a bite to eat whenever my mom and sister went away on 'girls trips' for the weekend. Everything about the old food court from the neon lights, the marble, the fountains, the theatres and the arcade are incredibly fond memories etched into my mind from childhood. I used to go on a lot of dates in the mall as a teenager as well so lots of nostalgia from the later 2000's as well. Too bad the mall has been stripped of almost all of it's character now. Bring neon and palm trees back!

Awww man that brings back so many memories as a kid where I would run across the bridge and touch the water. I love the new design, but I can't help but feel the old design was better and just needed re-touching.

As always, love the videos! Just a couple of my own rambling memories: - The Phase III Food Court originally had two anchor tenants. When it first opened in the mid-1980s, Hakim Optical was originally the Harvey's/Swiss Chalet, and like the McDonald's, it had its own seating area and everything. Sometime in the early 90s, Harvey's/Swiss Chalet moved to its current spot out in the food court, and the old spot became a Music World, and then Hakim Optical - The loonie theatre originally showed first-run movies when the mall first opened. Saw Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure there on opening day in 1988! It became the loonie theatre in 1992. - Despite having that wonderful stage in the Phase III Food Court, I only remember one act ever using it: they brought in a string quartet one Christmas to play Christmas carols.

I remember this. I was young and these memories are so faded but they’re coming back in small fragments. You know those memories that you had that are at the very back of your mind that get switched back on when something reminds you. I’m having memories of eating in the mcdonalds when it was bigger and you could walk in and sit down. Wow I appreciate your work and this channel memories are everything.

I'm from Ontario, so I've never been to the West Edmonton Mall. Hopefully someday. Seeing how the food court used to be brought on a wave of nostalgia. As a 10 or 12 year old kid in the 80's, going to the mall used to be so much fun. Neon lights, arcades, music. Getting kicked off the Pacman machine by a kid that was older, and had a leather jacket. Again, having never been there, it's hard to judge. Looked way better before. Now it looks like a wedding hall, instead of a food court.

Great video. Brings back memories! I prefer the old food court. The current design sucks balls, gets stuffy whenever I visit, and the chairs and seats get gross. Used to visit that big McDonald's weekly, and thought there was a good variety of food places in the old food court. I still remember when they had ashtrays on tables and some of the older kids would smoke after visiting circuit circus.

I miss that court it was so cool

haha, this brings me back. I'd actually forgotten completely about the long line of fountains going from one end of the court to the other. I do remember being able to look up at the next level- a Jubilations, then Bed Bath & Beyond in that spot. And yeah, Caesar moved to the bingo one. Sadly, what was a great circular fountain just ended up being a spot for sketchy teens to hang out and sling drugs. I once saw a movie in the cheap theater- at that point I was so new to Edmonton I hadn't even thought of exploring every inch of the mall, so it was kind of a shocker. We saw a lame Matthew Perry/Elizabeth Hurley movie.

Bruuh, I remember those fountains

Ontario was almost a decade late to the Sunday shopping game. I remember going to WEM in the mid-late 1980s and being amazed a mall (and its stores) would be open on Sunday! *Great video!* The original food court was far better. Nothing beats the arch fountains with the walkways under them. The water flow was so well aligned when it exited the jets, it looked like a solid piece of glass. Kids (and people sitting at nearby tables) would often be astonished when they touched the water arch and got *soaked.*

The nostalgia... I wish they kept that look, retro look would’ve been cool to see today

Hold on... in the beginning CBC clip... did he say Anna Maria Tremonti?! I had no idea she was that old, holy shit! She's still on CBC's the current! That's amazing, I'm blown away!

I seem to remember all of this, and it makes me sad to realize how much they changed it, from having style, and character, to plain, drab, clean, white shiny modern style, and that pisses me off, I use to go to this mall all the time, I did take my girlfriend to see the phantom menace and it was awesome, I was a huge Star Wars fan then, and still am now, I also remember sitting by the McDonald’s in the phase III court and, getting up and walking over the little bridges with the water, and going looking at the fountain taking a bunch of photos, and I’m glad I did, I took a lot, and every so often, when I’m there at west Ed, I can’t help from thinking what it used to look like, I would click passed my photos on my camera and just wish that this was all a Dream and it’s still the west edmonton mall it used to be

Great video. I love seeing old videos/pics of WEM. I still remember the feeling the place had back in 2001 when I went back after not being at WEM since 1983. You could literally feel the 1980s.

I miss this food court. That arcade kicked ass. It looks okay now but back then it was the shiet. Great video dude. Oh man Im going back in time. Burger Man

I heard you say "Man eating burger statue" and thought I was going to see statue of a man getting eaten by a burger.

You should do a video on Kidtropolis at WEM if you haven't yet. That place was awesome as a kid

I remember the original food court, it really had a lot of character to it and was very unique! I like the clean bright look now but i do miss the old way it looks from time to time since there is so much memories from back then

God damn I miss that 80's neon

Old Food court was cool but only problem was the seats were quit hard as wood but I do also like the Brighter food court but miss the skylights and and palm trees.

I remember those times West Edmonton Mall turned me into a mall rat from day 1 lol

Hamburger guy! And we called the Cesar statue "the disco statue"... because it looks like he's busting a move... you know. Anyway. I miss that foodcourt. Even those the floor was always wet from people splashing those water features.

The statue of Caesar was located with other Roman features inside movie theatres near the Casino back in the mid 1980s.I particularly liked the contrast of the white marble a brightly painted red walls

I miss the old mall, wish they would bring teh old and gold era back

Essentially spent my formative years there...thanks for making me feel ancient!! LOL

At 4:14 -- the lion heads!! I knew they existed, but no one else remembers them. Thank you for this public service.

I havent been to the mall in 5 years, and have been visiting it every once in a while since I was around 2 years old. I'm kinda sad to see all these iconic scenes of the mall go as I have many memories dating back from the late 90s/early 2000's. As long as they still have world waterpark I'll still be coming back though.

I remember the original food court - in 1981!

I just discovered this channel and I am glad I have. The videos are well-made, full of character and educational! Really neat to see how the mall was once like.

I remember everybody thinking those water arches were just glass and reaching up to touch them. I remember little kids jumping up to hit them and getting soaked. lol

Loved watching this! I have fond memories of my mom taking me to the Phase 3 Mcdonalds as a kid back when we lived in Aldergrove. Thanks for the memories.

I use to work at circuit circus back in high school. The memories! I miss the old food court, spent many many hours hanging out with friends their. Good times! Thanks for the upload!

This is the video I’ve been looking for for ages! I miss the old food court so much

I grew up as a kid in the 80's in Canada. Malls were tiny and nothing was open on a Sunday....only movie theaters were open on a Sunday. Back when Boots and Marks and Spencer were all over the place.

It’s now been a while but watching this video brought back my teen years when me and all my friends hang out of choice was phase III. Before we had phones in our pockets the only way to find out what was happening was to head to phase lll food court there was always somebody there 8:21

I love how you describe the warm coloring as character. I agree the malls kind of sepia tone (which I always assumed was due to 20 years of cigarette smoke) is what I most miss about it. Its what I remember and miss most being a human raised by a shopping mall. its like my mom got a face lift and looks like a plastic doll and nothing like the person who made me who I am today. I know it sounds strange to say you were raised by a building but, I lived across the street from it for 22 years and in close proximity for 30. My mom worked there for 20 years and golly Horizon Daycare first 6 years of my life were spent there. and ive been working there since 2004 or so. Keep these coming my dude.

This video brings back a lot of memories, great job!

I remember when the changes were made. The fountains made the area more interesting. I'm surprised that nothing was mentioned about what happened to Circuit Circus. That arcade was nothing like any other arcade because they imported arcade games and photo booths from Japan. Circa 2005, I had so much fun playing a variant of Taiko Drum Master. It was under a different name that I have since forgotten. I was never good at DDR, but I really got into the rhythm games. The photo booths, known in Japan is purikura (print club) gave you more options to edit your photos and make them look cute. You could play with backgrounds, elements, and brushes. Pretty similar to the photo apps that you can find out there today. You finish your session, and then you exit to the outside of the booth and wait for the stickers to print. Then there must have been a change over in management because all the machines I loved were removed, and they got replaced with generic machines, like those stacker games. I was disappointed. Even though I live in Japan now, I don't really visit the arcades anymore.

I really dig your videos. I remember phase 3 food court very well as it used to be. I saw so many movies at Cinema 8. I remember that there was a Harvey's Hamburgers somewhere near the theatre in the 80's. I also remember all the McDonald's in WEM. I used to go to the one near Fantasyland usually before going to a movie at Famous Players. I didn't venture into WEM until around the time that Phase 3 was being constructed. At the time there was only 2 theatres, The Famous Players (I saw Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and the first Police Academy there as a kid--- years after I saw Oliver Stone's The Doors at the Famous Players-- I think I also saw Tim Burton's Ed Wood there too) and the original Cineplex Odeon--- which as you mentioned, later became the Dollar Theatre once Cinema 8 opened. One of the strangest things that I saw in the history of the Phase 3 food court was that they had moved a Music World Record Store in there briefly. It was totally out of place-- I have no idea why Music World got located out of the main Mall and ended up in a food court...lol. Anyway, I liked the heyday of the Phase 3 Food Court-- back in the 80's and 90's. I haven't been there in years. I can't tell you how many times I would grab some food in the court and then see a movie at Cinema 8. I saw Pulp Fiction there way more times then any mortal needs to see it....lol. I doubt I would even recognize the remodeled Food Court from what you show in the video. I really can't envision it without the Cinema 8. It wouldn't be the same for me. I would probably just get depressed going into there. I've been in WEM in the last couple of years. but usually just to Sunrise Records (or HMV back a few years more) and Collector's Edge and back out. I haven't really ventured too much into the rest of WEM. It has been a while. I am sure the changes would really throw me for a loop. Thanks for the great videos--- I am really enjoying them.

I Miss Those Fountains😢😢😥

Caesar has been moved to in front of the bingo hall!

Great job! Loved this

I remember that old food court. I miss the old dollar theatre too... it at least provided options for movies there. Thanks BEM!

Memories😭

Thanks for bringing back memories from my second home as a teenager! That food court was the best. I remember spending copious amounts of time in Circuit Circus using the coin operated computers to login to Nexopia and browse the internet 😂

Excellent work, dude!

I remember from working at the mall that Circuit Circus was always a hot spot for trouble, lots of kids who would either be in there to cause trouble or skip school, and lots of drug deals in the dark corners. I wonder if the removal of it was a because of all the issues.

These videos are great. Thanks, man! Some more recent videos would be great, as I don't really know what's been happening there lately, although I live in Edmonton. :P

There's nothing I'm more nostalgic for in the whole world than those tables outside of Circuit Circus by the old fountain. This video is just teeming with wonderful memories of being a Spruce Grovian mall rat.

This brought back my childhood

Awww i missed that food court, the arcade there use to be awesome... Also remember running through that center fountain getting soaked, goooood times

Who stuck their fingers in theirs food court arch fountains?

Great video. Great flashback for me. Thx!:)

Right in the nostalgia!

Wow! This takes me back!

You do a great job on these.

I love this channel!! Throw back after throw back, a little disheartening, but still super cool

Thank you for this little trip back to WEM during my childhood days! Ah, nostalgia, how I love thee.

I have a story about this from when I was young (university, anyway) and dumb. My friend, whose hobbies were attempting parkour and breaking rules, jumped across one of the water features in the phase 3 food court once, after checking left and right for security and finding nothing. Immediately, a security guard materialized to ream him out. None of us saw where he came from. From that day, we declared that the WEM employed ninja security guards, and none of us ever caused trouble in there again.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane! I moved there in 1988 and was a mall rat there! Moved away in 2003! The food court looks like a bloody waiting room now! Horrible!

It was a sad day when they took the dollar theater away :(

I was old enough to remember, but too young to actually enjoy the food court for what it was. A damn treasure, and staple of the mall. It made it unique, but now its souless.

Damn I miss the mall looking like that

Wow this brings back memories!

maaaaaaan this takes me back

This brings back so many memories. I remember going to the McDonald’s many times and to the dollar theatre. I used to have my birthday parties at the McDonald’s across from Fantasty/Galaxyland. I also remember the shops above Galaxyland.

I. Like other people. Love Phase III. Old Food Court. Sure it was Dark Looking. But Hey? It was what it was. Jump 5 Years After the Renovation Since 2013 - 2018. Sure it.s Brighter. Gone was the Movie Theater that went to Phase IV. As well the Centre Fountain. The 2 Statutes. One was which Titled. The Man With His Hamburger. That Statue Moved to the Small Food Court in Phase I. The other one? No Guesses. Overall since it.s Transformation. My Opinion. Looks Great. It really Stands Out. Who here still remembers REDS?? Or The Joint Nightclub?

These vids are the best. I have fond memories of going to the dollar theatre and grabbing an all Canadian meal at McDonald’s both for under 5 bucks!

The mall used to look so cool. Now its kinda a eye sore. Thats too bad.

Awesome video.

pretty much went down hill after silver city got bought out or sold to scotia bank. I miss the dragon haha

I remember for like a year they had a giant tv right in the middle of the big water fountain

Im old enough to remember this, was still there in 2002 and 2003

That's funny: I always called the bronze burger guy "Man in contemplation of a burger"

A new BEM video on Monday! It cheers me up before I have to go to school...

I definitely forgot about all of the things you mentioned! Including the fountains and the McDonalds Locations!! I remember them when i was just a little kid! Thanks for the Nostalgia!!

Omg I remember that food court. I totally forgot about it.

IMHO. Phase 3 Food Court was way better than what it is today. Sure it was darker. Will always remembered the Statute of Caesar. And the overhead of the water in the middle of the walkways. Good times!!

I love your videos

Great video. They should bring back the Lord's day law. Miss the way the old food court looked and the feel of it. Also miss the theatre that was in it.

Having worked at the mall around 2007 I very much so remember the way the food quiet use to look. I personally miss the character of it.

Mirrors everywhere! How I miss those days.

Just saw the article on CBC Edmonton, congrats on the gig!

The new food court is more closed off and feels more claustrophobic

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I remember all of those and I too had a date with a girl at gourmet court theatres

This must of been so cool to been immersed in during a pre-smart phone era.

I prefer the new look. But I miss the fountains. They could have modernized the fountains like they did with the other 2 fountain areas they have.

The central fountain used to have a "geyser" in the centre that would shoot all the way up to the second floor where Ed's Rec Room was at the time. It was replaced with nothing for a while, then replaced again with a TV screen to advertise movies in the theatre, and then the entire fountain was removed. Now Sportchek occupies that space so removing the geyser would've been inevitable. There used to be a restaurant in Europa Boulevard that had a back end that extended over the food court. Highly doubt it's still there though. Barely anyone knew about it or used it

Awesome nostalgia, I grew up in the west end and my group of friends and I worked and played in this mall daily. I worked at that phase 3 cineplex, after school I would have about 90 mins to watch a movie before my shift, once I watched Office Space everyday for 2 weeks. I also worked at Reds when it opened, that place was awesome but they never maintained it. I was also assaulted by WEM security in that McDonald’s for “loitering” while I had a shopping bag with clothing I had purchased and a ticket stub to a movie. They messed my wrist up and I never got an apology even though a friend of the family took the mall to mediation. Good times. I just went into that arcade last week with my son and the woman tried to upsell me on a lot of gaming credits saying ‘these don’t expire, you can come back later’ and I said ‘your right, I was playing marvel vs. capcom right here 20 years ago! I always thought the mall could reclaim its worlds biggest title by building up, can’t wait to see phase 5!

I literally didnt go to the mall for like 10 years or so and I came back and the best food court was no longer. I had so many memories, as my family always ate in that one and my brother and I used to run across the bridges and play in the fountains. This makes me sad.

oh god i remember this setup in WeM