The Bay's Paddlewheel restaurant in Winnipeg to close

The Paddlewheel restaurant, a mainstay of The Bay's downtown store in Winnipeg, will close later this month.

Officials with the Hudson's Bay Company and the Compass Group,a food services company, say the longtime eatery will shut down on Jan. 24.

Officials did not specify whythey are closing the Paddlewheel, except to say in a statement that the closure supports "The Bay's continued efforts to improve and deliver an exceptional shopping experience to our customers."

The restaurant in the downtown store, at the corner of Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard, features a simulated paddlewheel steamship alongside one wall and painted steam clouds on the ceiling.

Some of the seating gives the illusion of being on a paddlewheel deck.

Once an immensely popular restaurant that has served generations of Winnipeggers, the Paddlewheel appears to have fallen out of favour in recent years.

In 2011, The Bay said it wasrevamping 24 of its in-store restaurants across Canada, including the Paddlewheel.