Fostering 'Wow' Moments: A New Look for The Cowfish

Jeff Cangro, project manager

The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar is a truly one-of-a-kind fusion of a sushi bar and a gourmet burger restaurant. The owners, Alan Springate and Marcus Hall, found a way to flawlessly combine two contrasting products onto one menuThis unique concept offers fresh and innovative plates, specializing in signature meals called Burgushi that feature burger components in sushi rolls or unexpected sushi ingredients in a burger frameworkWith two existing locations in North Carolina and one franchised unit in Universal Studios Orlando, Springate and Hall set out to create a new flagship store in AtlantaThe concept has seen significant amounts of success with its extremely creative foods and quality ingredients, matched with a premium level of service. They are now turning their focus to the environment and creating a brand distinction to match the meals they serveThe intention for this flagship location was to elevate the design to a level that pairs with the rest of the conceptand offers a testing ground for a more effective kitchen.  

As the design firm responsible for bringing this vision to life, our primary goal was to clearly communicate The Cowfish’s brand differentiators and core values. Knowing that they focus on true quality, the guest experience and fostering “wow” moments – we set out to develop a design that exemplified those characteristics. The main dining room’s focus is an aquarium-worthy fish tank balanced by floating, edge lit, LED color-changing tables along the opposite wallThe tank became a focal point in the space, without being a dominant feature. The unique character of the custom artwork is highlighted and celebrated through its display in a gallery-like fashion. Additionally, we designed many of the art pieces to deliver unique experiences both up close and from a distance, like the abstracted wave pattern on the bar front that is made up of many small individual icons.  

With the entire restaurant being open, we were looking to highlight the potential for guests to have multiple experiences in the same space. We wanted to ensure that customers could visit the restaurant over and over, and each time it would feel different. Elevating the bar’s presence was important, since it doesn’t stand as a main element in their other storesWe designed illuminated liquor risers to showcase their specials, while frosted taps distinguish beer as a focal pointThe sloped, curving ceiling mimics an abstract ripple in water and creates a defined, unique space. The bar top has brushed aluminum Cowfish logos embedded into the planks of wood, all encircling the 16-foot-wide live fish tank. Additionally, we elevated the importance of the sushi bar by giving it a home of its own in the middle of the space. The food theater from the interaction with the sushi chef adds life and character to the space. 

One of our main goals was to create a non-themed space that would have longevity and remain relevant. We wanted to uphold the Cowfish’s irreverence as a brand and culture through an interactive and playful space. Surprises are everywhere. At the hostess stand a small tank greets guests with their muse: an actual cowfish! Life was brought back to their existing artwork by converting them into functional environmental graphics. We essentially turned the art into architecture. The American Gothic image, which is made up of many small icons, was printed on a slat wall that now helps to divide the spaces. The ceiling in the main dining area represent the tectonic plates of the earth, contrasting land and sea when mirrored next to the water-like ceiling above the bar. We found that this was an efficient way to use simple materials in creative manner to tell a distinct story. Larger-than-life bento boxes in the to-go area exhibit unique brand-specific art made entirely out of Legos. Wtruly aimed to provide new dining experiences through these hidden gems – even when customers are simply getting take-out.  

From an operational efficiency standpoint, we were able to integrate two completely different kitchens for burgers and sushi into one space. The kitchen fosters an elevated level of food and service, while enabling servers to work more efficiently.  

Since this was a second generation space, we had to pay close attention to customers’ predisposition to the room. The previous tenant had operated under a similar name and somewhat comparable menu, so it was important to create a restaurant both unique to the area and noticeably different from the last concept. Therefore, wcompletely removed the exterior façade and gutted the interiors. The new exterior geometries function as a funnel that invites guests inside. We increased the patio area and the number of windows so the passersby can actively witness the contagious energy. This liveliness, paired with vibrant contrasting colors, exemplifies a brand that is open to having fun and taking chances. The new Atlanta flagship restaurant is both dynamic and invigorating – and guests are as excited about the space as they are about the food! 

Featured in Modern Restaurant Magazine.


Fast casuals, not fine-dining brands, leading restaurant segment in design innovation

Tracking design innovation and trends tells a story about the hospitality industry and can help paint a picture of the future. Restaurants are typically classified into QSR, fast casual, casual, polished casual and fine dining. Historically, fine dining was chef-driven and polished casual aimed to follow suit, while the other three categories often did not make this a priority. In the past few years, however, we’ve seen a shift begin to take place. Rather than going into fine dining, chefs are now looking at translating their ideas to a limited-menu, fast casual concept. So how does this shift affect things from a design standpoint?

A Change in design trends

In the past, design trends originated in fine dining and polished casual restaurants and then trickled down to the other segments. By the time these trends got to QSR, they didn’t actually impact the design because those spaces operated so differently. QSR was another world entirely. However, fast casual has become a game changer as it has grown in prevalence and the segment now sets the standard for design with the trends moving up the chain to the others.

This is because fast casual is now starting to capture more of the social diners, who are choosing fast casual restaurants for more of their dining out social occasions. With this shift, it is natural for fast casual restaurants to increase their attention on the dining experience itself, which has led fast casual to the center of design innovation.

So, how are these impacting quick service? For starters, we are seeing fast food restaurants feature reclaimed wood, Edison bulbs, chalkboards and subway tile. If you look at the diffusion of innovations, according to Everett Rogers, innovation is broken into five categories: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. In this case, fast casual has been ahead in the realm of innovators and early adopters. And as these trends move toward the early majority, QSR restaurants are beginning to pick them up more.

So what’s changed? In the past, QSR had no direct competition and therefore, no real focus on design innovation. However, this segment can no longer get away with being far from the design trends. With the changes taking place in fast casual, we’re seeing significant increases in the amount of attention and money that quick service restaurants are spending on design and facilities. These establishments have so much money and real estate that they’re now actually beginning to push design trends back toward fast casual. This would have been unheard of a decade ago.

So, fast casual restaurants now have a choice. They can up their game on the social experience and pull customers from casual, polished casual and fine dining, or they can focus more on convenience with drive-thrus and to-go options, and draw customers away from QSR. Meanwhile, QSR is turning its attention to both catering options and social occasions, all while moving toward improving their quality. Taking cues from fast casual, QSR is enhancing their dining experiences and using the strength of their scale to try to do it better.

In the end, I believe we’ll see blurring lines between the QSR and fast casual segments – and these areas will be driving design innovation. For many restaurants and consumers, the clear segment distinction is going away. The focus will shift from the fast casual concepts to those anomalies that stand out as neither entirely QSR or fast casual. The key to it all is making sure the design is intentional, purposeful, and connecting with the brand’s consumers. If this is done well, then others will quickly follow suit.

Featured in Fast Casual.


Pay Attention to What Resonates with Customers

Steve Starr is an award-winning designer, speaker, and owner of  StarrDesign based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. StarrDesign delivers architectural, lighting, interior design services and more for retail shops and restaurants.
We had the opportunity to chat with Steve virtually via email and ask him a few questions about how design elements can be applied to mobile food and how important they are to building a long-lasting, thriving brand.

The original content of this post was featured on M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks. Read its Q & A session with Steve here.


Why We Should Care About Designing for Millennials

Rachel Mitchell, marketing manager

Although they don’t have considerable spending power now, Millennials will soon dominate consumer behavior.  We are already seeing this begin to take place in the current market, and it will only continue to grow. Therefore, it is vital for restaurant operators to learn how to connect with Millennials on a personal and authentic level.

According to research by Nielson, there are five defining characteristics of Millennials that should be addressed.

  1. They are diverse, expressive and optimistic. They place value in the arts and self-expression, and are led by their typically high levels of education.
  2. They are urban thinkers. Those that are not living with their parents are often found in the cities, looking for the vibrant energy of housing, shops and offices all in the same area.
  3. They desire authenticity and caring. Millennials value high-quality, locally produced items, and are especially drawn to places that have a social impact.
  4. They are well-connected and look for the personal touch. Using high levels of technology in nearly every aspect of their lives, they value authentic, personal communications when interacting with brands via social media.
  5. They are struggling, but climbing the ladder. They were hit particularly hard by the Great Recession, and as such, they put a priority on value when making purchasing decisions.

Knowing these five traits makes it easier to understand that Millennials care about a number of things that simply weren’t brand drivers in the past. Therefore, in order to resonate with this generation, it’s important to have clearly defined core values. If you decide to represent something, then everything about your business and your restaurant should reflect that.

So, what does this mean in terms of design?

For starters, make sure your brand represents the things that drive Millennials’ passions. Intentionally choose core values that are relevant to them will help foster the long-term relationships you’re looking to create. Respect their authenticity, creativity and diversity. Look for them in the cities, and relate to them by supporting their causes. Reach them via the social media and mobile channels that they access every day. And finally, give them a deal by providing a great value. Catching their attention now can lead to promising relationships in the future.

Additionally, here are three ways you can ensure your design resonates with the Millennials you are trying to reach:

  1. Communicate your socially responsible practices. This can be done through marketing materials at the point of purchase, menu items that directly benefit a charitable organization or highlighting menu ingredients purchased from local suppliers.
  2. Give them a variety of experience options. This will work to engage the Millennial customer on a number of levels and can be done through the creation of different seating areas and styles within your restaurant. Counter tops with bar seating, lounge areas with soft seating and/or community tables give Millennials an opportunity to pick their dining experience.
  3. Walk your talk. If you define yourself as a healthy restaurant, then not only should your menu and ingredients feature fresh, organic and local options – your design should display this through natural material choices and informative graphics. Conversely, if you are brand that is clearly an indulgence, you need to own it. Make the entire experience about indulgence and let the environment reinforce that.

Featured in Modern Restaurant Magazine.


Better Budgeting for Equipment

Budgeting is an essential part of running any business, and it’s a critical step in starting up or running a foodservice operation. All too often budgeting becomes a matter of throwing a bunch of numbers down on paper and hoping that everything gets covered. There are some ways, however, to make the whole process more accurate.

The original content of this post was featured on Foodservice Equipment & Services and written by Tom O'Brien, Contributing Editor. Read the full article here.


Modern Restaurant Management

Talking with: Steve Starr, President of starrdesign

Steve Starr, the restaurant and retail designer, has been confused with Stephen Starr, the restaurateur. In fact, there are two funny stories you can ask him about. He likes to talk. The starrdesign President spoke with Modern Restaurant Management magazine about the design process, challenges facing the restaurant industry and why he calls Charlotte, NC home.

The original content of this post was featured on Modern Restaurant Management and written by Barbara Castiglia, Executive Editor. Read the full article here.


Operational hurdles pave way for off-premise promise

The three biggest hurdles impacting food service operators today include the over demand and under supply of good real estate, the unprecedented rise of construction costs and an increase in labor. Combined, these hurdles create the perfect timing for restaurant operators to get into catering as a way to increase sales.

According to Steve Starr, principal at Charlotte, N.C.-based starrdesign, these operational challenges will be in place for the next 12 to 36 months and should encourage restaurant operators to ramp up their catering and off-premise sales efforts. Those efforts and sales could work to increase operating revenue and counterbalance any changes to construction, real estate and labor costs.

The original content of this post was featured on Off-premise Insights.


Looking the Part

Fast casuals leverage design elements to communicate their premium quality.

 

Design is a key factor for emerging restaurants. Super Chix redesigned when building only its second restaurant. Operators understand that people want to eat where they feel comfortable and welcome, and that design is a valuable way to communicate the brand’s story and values to customers.

Design also sets the expectations for the customers, which the food and staff then deliver, says Steve Starr, founder of Starr Design, a North Carolina architecture and design firm. Fast casuals have become a hotbed for design innovation.

The original content of this post was featured on QSR and written by Jessie Szalay. Read the full here.


Real vs. authentic: Which word should describe your restaurant?

Words such as authentic, real, integrity, and genuine seem to be used as brand attributes for almost every company we come into contact with lately. Even one of our own values is authenticity. But behind these words, what message are people truly trying to send and why is it becoming so relevant in design?

It is vital to pay attention to what drives your target audience. Millennials represent the largest force in consumer spending, and this fact can’t be ignored. Their generation puts a premium on authentic, handmade and locally produced goods, and they’re willing to pay more for something that they can support. Therefore, restaurants are now turning their focus to being authentic and real, and they want to make sure the customer is aware of these attributes.

Authenticity is about communicating your brand’s true ideals to the consumer while the term real references the use of natural materials. Can something be authentic without being real? In short, the answer is yes. If you have an Asian fusion concept, it would make sense to take your design cues from contemporary Asian style, but a rustic environment wouldn’t be appropriate. In this case, using plastic materials may not be real, but it could be very much authentic to the brand.

From a design perspective, it is vital to ensure the restaurant’s key brand messages are being expressed in an authentic way. Consumers are now exposed to excessive amounts of information and are too sophisticated to value something that isn’t genuine.

Today, operators are leaning more toward using real materials over synthetic choices. However, five to seven years ago, the trend was to use molded, curvilinear plastic and fiberglass or high-performance polymers. Now, if there is an opportunity to use real materials as opposed to their synthetic counterparts, people are more likely to choose that option. Wood also is making an enormous comeback, along with more natural materials such as stone and brick. When these elements reinforce your brand values, they can be very useful tools in communicating authenticity.

For example, if you have a brand that originated in a rural area, serves home cooking and values heritage, a traditional design with real materials would be very authentic. Additionally, although it is a common misconception, real materials aren’t always more expensive than synthetic options. The level of cost is more directly related to the materials’ quality, durability and longevity.

There are other numerous ways to communicate authenticity aside from material choices. Right now in fast casual, an emphasis is being placed on open kitchens and food theatre. Food that is made-to-order or created from scratch can be highlighted through the store layout. High-quality food standards are also being showcased through the design by display-prepped (line ready) ingredients in glass door coolers.

Restaurants that use responsible sourcing practices, such as free-range or non-GMO, can celebrate this attribute through creative signage and graphics.

The overall design can communicate so many things to the consumer. People pay a lot of attention to the lighting, acoustics and tactile touch and feel of the materials. The atmosphere of the restaurant comes from a multisensory approach rather than just the appearance. This design then sets the expectation for the diners, which the food and service then need to deliver. If a person feels comfortable in a space, they’re more likely to linger, enjoy a beer and spend more. Whereas, if a space leaves the guest feeling out of place or confused, they may come in and take their order to go. Therefore, the entire experience needs to resonate as an authentic one to guests.

Featured in Fast Casual.


Inside the Brain of Architect & Designer, Steve Starr

Recently I had the pleasure of working with the design team at starrdesign in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was impressed by the initial meetings, their space, and most importantly, their thinking. I had some time to pull together some questions for Steve Starr, the visionary behind the firm and he was gracious enough to answer. The world of developing and crafting brands is rooted in “design thinking,” not just identity, interiors, and so on. The strategy and thought behind a brand is what makes it succeed or fail at connecting with the masses, and the Starr Design team does a stellar job at interpreting brand strategies into the physical space.

The original content of this post was featured on Grits & Grids and written by Joseph Szala. Read the full interview here.


The Curious Case of Value Engineering

Controlling costs is critical when it comes to restaurant design and construction. Without the proper checks and balances, projects can go off the rails and budgets can reach astronomical proportions. However, too many budgetary limitations can have a negative impact on not only the design of a restaurant, but also its customer experience. This is where value engineering (should) step into the picture.

Value engineering gives restaurant operators the ability to scale back design elements that cross over budget lines while maintaining brand integrity and the overall customer experience. However easy that sounds, restaurant operators often find it difficult to balance design intent and the desired customer experience with the harsh realities of a budget.

The original content of this post was featured on restaurant development + design and written by Valerie Killifer, Contributing Editor. Read full restaurant development + design article here.


Retrofit, Remodel or Renovation?

04 Final Exterior

Refreshing a restaurant is like updating old recipes: some need a dash of salt, while others require the addition of entirely new ingredients. As time passes, any establishment can benefit from a redo — no matter the scale. For restaurant operators, updating your environment is not only important, it can be vital to continued success in the ever-changing foodservice industry.

The Three Rs of Updating

The terms retrofit, remodel and renovation may be foreign concepts to some restaurateurs. However, each plan consists of different aspects — and choosing the appropriate path is as important as the update itself.

A retrofit represents the most non-invasive strategy. This can occur during off hours to avoid closing the business or disturbing the customer experience. A retrofit plan primarily includes redoing the graphics, finishes, decor elements and paint colors. It may also consist of minor changes to the millwork or furniture. In general, the work doesn’t require a permit, but project teams should consult their local jurisdictions to be safe.

A remodel builds upon the idea of a retrofit, while also addressing repair and maintenance issues. Addressing small code violations requires a short restaurant closure, too. This plan of action often features more extensive changes such as seating rearrangements and partitioning or updates to booth fabrics and flooring.

A renovation includes all the procedures in a remodel as well as more drastic modifications. The invasive work will require closure for a minimum of three weeks to allow for demolition, rebuilding and possible new construction. While renovations include extensive finish changes, these projects also address all code violations in the establishment.

The Importance of Change

04 Final Exterior
Brixx remodeled to create a brighter, more eye-catching exterior.

Any number of reasons may prompt a restaurant operator to redesign an establishment. These projects often equally benefitthe owners and the customers. Fundamentally, refreshing a restaurant has been shown to increase sales — both short and long term — due to numerous positive outcomes that accompany a renovation. Updating provides you with a means of remaining relevant to guests, leading to an increase in customer volume and diversity. New concepts seem to pop up on every corner, making it essential to look toward the future. Deliberate changes reinforce the restaurant’s unique brand identity and fill the space with a newfound life and zest. Finally, updating your space demonstrates your genuine appreciation of your customers. Catering to their comfort and happiness expresses that they are worthy of the investment. Guests will leave feeling valued, respected and content — and they will be sure to return.

Which is right for you? First and foremost, it’s critical to develop a game plan. A strategic process includes identifying restrictions, current issues and branding opportunities that will influence your overall reconstruction. Parameters to take into account include falling or stagnant comparable-store sales, increased competition in the area and the amount of time remaining in the lease. Also, evaluate your relevance to customers and how the business aligns with market patterns. After assessing these limitations, take into account current maintenance and code violations. A sanitary environment will lower the risk of food hazards, improve the health inspection rating and leave a positive impression on the diners.

Re-evaluate operational and customer flow patterns since layout improvements can maximize efficiency and transform the

Brighter colors and more contemporary seating options were included in interior design updates for Brixx.

working environment of a space. In addition, strengthening the concept’s identity through the use of branded elements personalizes the atmosphere in a restaurant. Finally, it is vital to reconcile your overall budget before finalizing the plan. Sometimes a space may present a significant amount of potential but will require sufficient capital to cover all the expenses. Compromise is essential, so striking a balance between cost and priorities will lead to an ideal outcome.

Advance planning and prioritizing will enhance positive results; the key is to understand the overall plan before beginning. Limited capital may require completing the work in a series of phases. Scheduling multiple retrofits over a span of time allows the updates to build on each other and produces the cumulative effects of a remodel. After analyzing previous records, it becomes beneficial to renovate the business during traditionally lower sales periods. Additionally, establishing a strong relationship between the contractor, architect and restaurateur will inevitably produce innovative solutions and reduce overall costs.

Whether it includes minor paint touch-ups or complete reconstruction, updating an existing restaurant can improve the brand identity, encourage new customers and prepare your business for the future — not to mention increase sales along the way.

Featured in Restaurant Development + Design.