The Town of Banff hopes to score big with residents and visitors with a new concession venue at the $33 million redeveloped Banff Rec Centre.
Steve Landi of Canmore is the new operator of the concession and catering services at the recreation centre in Banff, to be known as Top Shelf.
A letter of intent was signed earlier this month, allowing construction to begin on the concession space, located on the concourse level.
Landi is the third generation of the Landi family to work in catering and will base his menu on his Italian heritage – including gourmet pizza using a recipe handed down from his grandfather.
Other features will include freshly baked goods from local bakeries, meat from Valbella’s and in-season produce when available.
“We’re planning to raise the level of expectation that people would normally associate with a rec centre concession,” said Landi, who owns Bow Valley Catering.
“I am hoping to provide a pretty special pizza which should define the concession. I’ll be raising the bar and bringing passion to what I do.”
Burgers, hot dogs and fries will likely still be on the menu, but Landi wants to take the food and service to a higher level.
“It would be easy to flip burgers and steam hotdogs, but I don’t want to just do that; it will be the best ingredients,” he said.
“If I am doing a burger, it’s going to be a prime burger. If I am doing fries, it will be a certain type of potato.”
The Town of Banff wants to promote the facility and all it has to offer to a variety of groups, including weddings, conference groups, trade shows and more.
The concession service is expected to begin in mid to late April, once construction is complete.
The first phase of the redevelopment, almost completely rebuilt from the previous aging facility, offers an overhauled ice slab, a brand new curling rink with four sheets and associated services, along with two meeting rooms, lounges and a concourse.
A second, NHL-sized ice sheet, is expected to open soon.
