Customers at the Town House Food Court sit in a newly renovated seating area. The $300,000 upgrade includes more seating, better lighting and a more open floor plan. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — More seating, new lighting and extra electrical outlets are on the menu for the Townhouse Food Court’s 2,000 daily patrons in the near future.
The Yongsan Garrison food court is undergoing its first upgrade in about seven years, said Jesse Martinez, acting general manager for the Yongsan Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
“It really falls into place with what you find in the States,” Martinez said. “We’re trying to fit the mold of what customers’ expectations are.”
Martinez said the $300,000 renovation, which adds 100 seats, three TVs and a more open and “inviting” floor plan, originally was scheduled for completion March 22, but the work is about a week ahead of schedule.
The most recently completed portion of the project was the addition of several electrical outlets to the food court’s walls, making it possible for anyone who sits at a wall-side table to plug in a laptop, he said.
The upgrade also makes the Burger King and Popeyes restaurants more visible to customers.
“The Burger King and Popeyes were two huge concepts and they were sort of hidden in the back,” Martinez said.
Martinez said upgrading a facility is something AAFES officials look at about every seven years. They had noticed that crowded lunch rushes sometimes made finding seating difficult.
He said the date for the end of renovations is not yet known, but shortly after they are complete, the food court will host a grand reopening to showcase the changes that have been made.
The food court has remained in operation throughout the project, though some areas have been closed.
