After March 20, eating lunch Downtown 42 stories above the sidewalk won’t be an option.
The Skyline Dining and Conference Center on the top floor of Bank of America Tower is closing.
“It is purely a financial decision,” said Jenny Wilkes, property manager for Hertz Investment Group, which purchased the building in July.
The restaurant, operated by Aramark since it opened in October 2009, was an amenity for people who worked in the building, although it is open to the public as well, she said. It was opened to provide a location in the building that offered good food at reasonable prices.
After more than five years, the numbers didn’t add up for sustainability.
“Skyline has a good support group, but not enough that we didn’t have to subsidize it,” said Wilkes. “We regret that we have to do it, but it’s a business decision.”
Aramark was not required to pay rent for the space, which occupies about half of the nearly 14,000-square-foot top floor of the building.
The remainder of the floor will continue to be available to building tenants for meetings, classes and other functions, Wilkes said. It originally was the office space and a private dining room for the top executives and board of directors of Barnett Bank.
Chef and Food Service Director Ryan Vanek agreed the economics of the restaurant didn’t work. There isn’t enough customer volume to provide the level of quality and selection for the price point, he said.
The Monday-Friday lunch menu offers sandwiches, soup and salads in addition to daily special entrees such as quesadillas made to order, chicken parmesan and grilled salmon.
The prices match the market rate for lunch Downtown, with a lunch tab of $10 or less for the majority of selections.
Vanek is one of five employees looking for jobs.
“I’m sure I’ll find something,” he said. “A chef can always find a job.”
He might not have to look very far.
Wilkes said negotiations are underway with a possible tenant for the restaurant space in the building’s lobby. The ground-floor eatery closed in 2009, about the time the Skyline opened.
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