A city-owned cafeteria is open for business in Regina City Hall.
The old cafeteria closed around three years ago. City council approved renovations and upgrades to the main floor of city hall in the 2013 budget.
Building renovations were staged over several years. The estimated cost for all of the construction is $4.7 million. The price covers the cafeteria, improving aging infrastructure and giving the main floor of the building a face lift. The city did not provide a breakdown of how much of that cost was directed towards the cafeteria construction.
City officials say the eatery is available to everyone.
“The cafeteria is aligned with the vision for a contemporary work environment and will bring positive aspects to both employees and the public,” Jamie Hanson with the city said.
City hall is located in the centre of Regina’s downtown. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is questioning the need for the renovations with so many other restaurants nearby. Prairie director Todd MacKay is concerned that taxpayers are footing the bill for the renovations.
“There’s an excellent little café right here, there’s a Chinese restaurant right back over there, there’s a great pub down the way over here with amazing nachos,” MacKay said. “What in the world is city hall doing in the restaurant business? All of the good folks are out here competing, doing their best to serve customers well. They don’t need to be competing against their own tax dollars, especially when tax dollars keep going up.”
The city says a portion of the revenue from the cafeteria will be given back to the city, but did not provide an exact amount.
With files from CTV Regina's Jessica Smith
