Wellesley’s Park 9 Complex has been redesigned to best accommodate both its employees and residents looking for a place to get work done, which includes a cafeteria with a digital ordering service.
Located off of Routes 9 and 95, the campus, which will soon be renamed Wellesley Gateway South, features four buildings, as well as outdoor space. Wellesley Gateway North is a near identical space just across the street.
“There’s a walking trail that loops around both properties,” said David Tinory, Beacon Capital’s Asset Manager, noting that Wellesley residents can find much more than a quiet booth and a delicious lunch at the complex.
Both campuses have a generous amount of space and great amenities, including indoor and outdoor seating and WiFi connectivity throughout.
Perhaps the most exciting update is that both Wellesley Gateways are now home to state-of-the-art cafeterias operated by Craft Food Halls.
The menu features many made-to-order meals such as sandwiches and some à la carte options, all of which are ordered digitally instead of face-to-face, making the process “as seamless and efficient as possible,” according to Tinory.
I met Swellesley editor Bob Brown at the complex for lunch. I built my sandwich and placed the order through the Toast app, while Bob used a physical kiosk to order his. One thing he liked, being a picky eater, was the ability to emphasize that no condiments should go on the sandwich.
The July Thursday we went there proved to be pretty quiet, though neither of us were able to get a strong WiFi connection on our laptops.
Currently, the team behind the redesign is working to balance new menu items with longtime fan favorites, such as an omelet station in the mornings, and is hoping to keep faithful customers coming back despite changes to the ordering system.
“We’re looking at actually trying to bring in some of those older ways of operation to these newer ways of doing it,” said Tinory, “because there’s a decent amount of people who enjoy being in a line and placing [orders] to a person.”
In addition to the new ordering system, one of Craft’s three brands at the location, Sousviderie, uses the Sous Vide technique in the kitchen, cooking with higher water temperatures to enhance the flavors.
The company operates two other brands—Vessel and Project X—creating a menu with a diverse array of cuisines, one of the most popular options being Mexican food.
“It’s to the level that you would go out on a weekend to a Boston taqueria,” according to Tinory, “that’s the experience they’re getting at lunch.”
Wellesley Gateway South and North are open to the public Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Beacon Capital clearly is desperate to get people on property, after selling the Select Board on all the wonderful aspects of having biolabs in the town. Suddenly they seem to be lacking tenants, after telling the town they had tenants lined up. You won’t see any folks from the surrounding neighborhoods, at these fine eating establishments, after safety concerns were brushed aside in the various board hearings. These lab facilities should never have been approved to be built in the first place, and I hope Wellesley residents have the good sense to avoid eating in close proximity to biolabs. Ick.