JL Architects

Food and Beverage

2021: Predicting Trends in Restaurant Design

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Do you miss having a meal at your favorite restaurant? I sure do! When we can confidently walk through the doors of our favorite dining spot, what changes will we see?

For restaurants to survive during the pandemic owners were forced to pivot, and designers were looked upon for quick solutions.  Expect some of the quick solutions mentioned below to evolve into spectacular restaurant design trends in the new year.

Here is What to Expect:

  1. Customers will experience less contact. Dine-in locations during the pandemic are depending upon digital platforms to share the menu, offer specials, and provide contactless payment. These changes are expected to stay, allowing for cost savings (saved printing expense for menus & specials), allowing expedited payment, tracking of customer favorites, and greater access to a rewards program for reoccurring customers.
  2. Fast-casual restaurants will be smaller and more convenient. Typically, every 10 years food chains renovate their current design.  They may be changes to interior finishes and lay-out, digitally enhanced experiences, or even a remodeled exterior. As a result of current pandemic conditions, some enhancements are being expedited, and some locations are even considering eliminating indoor seating all together, hoping to lead to a more efficient and cost-effective model.
  3. Platform based food hall design is expected to thrive while still evolving. The pandemic made it impossible for individuals to utilize dine in food halls. The successful food halls pivoted to a digital platform for take-out and delivery. Now, we can digitally order an egg roll as an appetizer, a pizza for dinner, and a cannoli for dessert.  Watch for this design to expand post COVID, while continuing to evolve with our new purchasing and experience habits.
  4. Generation Z will be followed and targeted by corporate establishments. Corporate has noticed the massive popularity of TikTok. Dunkin Donuts has built an entire marketing campaign around one of the most followed TikTok accounts, with reportedly 84.8 million followers. Wow; that is lot of Dunkin and TikTok togetherness!

In summary the good news is dining out (and in!) is here to stay.  The even better news is that next time you check out that new local restaurant or go where you are known on a first name basis, changes of comfort and convenience will be integrated into your experience.

If you are ready to start the design process of your dream restaurant (that you have finally decided to act on), contact us here at JL Architects.  Our 30+ years of expertise in restaurant design can help your dream become a success.

Outdoor Dining Spaces – All Year Around

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Many restaurants and bars have outdoor spaces where customers can enjoy a meal or drink al fresco.  When the weather is sunny and warm, outdoor spaces can provide a wonderful atmosphere where you can enjoy nature as well as eat and socialize with friends.  Owners also benefit from the outdoor area.  Offering additional seating to patrons increases the amount of meals and drinks served, therefore increasing the revenue.  It’s a win-win for everyone…until the seasons change, and the temperature gets colder.  Who wants to eat outside when it’s 32 degrees and snowing?  I would!  Keep reading to find out why.

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The weather is certainly the biggest hindrance when it comes to outdoor dining, but restaurant and bar owners may have found the perfect solution.  Heated igloos are popping up all over restaurant and bar rooftops and patios from Michigan to New York to Tennessee.  While the igloos obviously aren’t made of snow, they create an enclosed space that provides warmth and comfort while still being able to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere.  One such restaurant that provides these trendy accommodations is Bobby Hotel in downtown Nashville, TN.  They provide everything from tables and chairs to pillows and card games in their heated rooftop igloos.  During the holiday season, they play classic Christmas movies in the background and serve spiked hot chocolate.   The igloos can seat 8 people and while reservations are strongly encouraged, they always keep 2 igloos open on a first come, first serve basis.

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For a more formal dining experience, visit the igloos at Tappo Restaurant in Buffalo, NY.   There you can enjoy a 3-course family style meal prepared from a pre-selected menu.  What better way to get into a festive winter mood, than to sip on a mulled red wine or a carmel spiked cider and watch the snow fall around you?  Or check out the igloos on the patio at The White Horse Inn located in Metamora, MI.  These beautiful igloos are not only warm and cozy, they are decorated to the nines and provide such a unique outdoor experience.  But make your reservations early, because they are already booked for weekends months in advance.

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These igloos are not only unique and fun, they are a great solution for utilizing outdoor areas all year around.  Winter doesn’t have to mean the end of the outdoor dining season.  By providing these enclosed spaces to keep patrons warm, comfortable, and happy they can continue to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere while dining with friends and family no matter what the temperature and that is certainly a win-win for everyone.

-Amy Estrella

Photo Credits: Bobby Hotel, Tappo Restaurant, and The White Horse Inn

Restaurants and Seating: The Communal Table

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With the coming of the holiday season it is important to look at gathering space. In restaurants, there is always a need for tables to seat eight or more people.  Communal tables are long, shared tables where people are typically sitting near someone they do not know. They can be used for high-turn around seating or for accommodating large parties and groups. Communal tables also impact the way in which wait staff engage with their customers. Staff must be well trained and prepared to handle customers, and how to encourage interaction. Your restaurants may even build service entirely around a social exchange.

While the benefit in communal tables for restaurants is an increased number of seats in a smaller space, there is much more to it than simply boosting sales. Communal tables play a part in developing a better experience. Restaurant Development and Design Magazine states that communal tables are “particularly appealing to millennials, who look for restaurant destinations that can accommodate their desire to socialize, graze and linger.” At these tables diners can choose to “engage with others at the table, or engage with technology.” Communal tables make it much easier for customers to take their time, start conversations, or work behind their computer screens. They give the customer freedom to decide how they would like to enjoy their dining experience.

Want to learn more about best practices for your restaurant? Let the JL Architects Restaurant division guide you!

-Alex Schleicher, Architectural Designer

Restaurant Design: Yesterday and Today

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A restaurant is defined as a place where people pay to sit and eat meals that are cooked and served on the premises. They have been part of our culture since the beginning of time, and as our culture evolves so do our restaurants.  Diners, an Americana icon were once a staple along major highways for individuals working long hours or constantly on the road.  Then came large fast food corporations that spread throughout the country with fast cheap food changing how and what we eat.  Many fast food companies have come and gone while others have become iconic branding that is ingrained into our psyche.

Today technology has been integrated into every facet of our lives, so why would restaurants be any different?  Many eateries provide options on a screen at some point through the dining experience.  Sometimes it is the first thing you interact with as you place your food order, while others may have a screen at your table in case you would like to order something while your waiter is busy.

As millennials become the dominate consumer, business owners have adjusted their restaurant model to suit their interests.  What has come from that are unique dining experiences.  In the past many restaurants created a consistency of branding and menu items, so that it was a familiar place whether walking through the door in Portland Maine or Portland Oregon.  Now, variety and one-offs are king.  Menu items may change seasonally, weekly and even daily.  This creates a feeling of singular experience and limited time hype, urging diners to try it while you still can.  Now those places of consistency from coast to coast have slight variations to them, so that they are recognizable, yet different enough to feel like a new experience.

Restaurants will probably always be a part of our culture; we need to eat, they create an experience, are part of a community, and they are an income producing opportunity.

Over the years JLA has been involved with the design, and expansion of local and unique places to dine to large corporate restaurants across the country.

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Contact us at JL Architects to create your unique experience.

-Nathan Houser, Architectural Designer – Restaurants

*Photo credits: https://dadsinthekitchenblog.wordpress.com/tag/fast-food/ and https://guestofaguest.com/new-york/restaurants/15-unique-restaurants-to-totally-wow-your-date

Sound & Space

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Sound can be absorbed, contained or amplified based on how a building is designed.  Recently, JL Architects attended two presentations on controlling acoustics within a space.  We had Regupol America and Kwik-Wall visit us. Regupol shared information regarding sound transmission through floors, while Kwik-Wall shared about sound proofing on operable walls.

Sound affects our quality of life, and everyday sound moves through spaces.  In restaurants, the quality of sound affects how easy it is to converse with the person sitting at the same table. In offices, it affects concentration when conversations are carried across a space.  Everything in a room contributes to the sound quality of the space: the number of people in the room, the type of furniture, the amount of hard spaces, the type of flooring, what the walls are made of and what the walls are attached to. There are three types of sounds that need to be addressed in acoustic design; they are airborne, structure-borne, and flanking sound transmission. The four main types of noise control methods used to address these types of sound are absorbing sound, increasing mass, damping, and decoupling.

There is a standard method to measure sound in a space.  It is called STC or Sound Transmission Class.  The STC levels of privacy tell you what type of noise would be not heard through a material. These range from normal speech, which is around 25, to shouting which is around 50.  If a wall or floor assembly has an STC rating above a certain number, then that is the quality of the sound that is blocked out.  The rating varies depending on the assembly of the entire room, thus it is important to ask for the official lab report to have the most accurate assembly possible.

Sound travels through the joints in the wall and floors. If there is no absorption, then the space below or above will hear what is happening.  Regupol America is a rubber flooring manufacturer who uses recycled rubber to help with sound control and sound vibration.  Their rubber and foam floor products are used in a variety of places.  They designed a flooring panel that can prevent the sound of weights being dropped onto the floor from echoing; this allows gyms to not be limited to the first floor.

Kwik-Wall specializes in operable walls that separate spaces from each other.  They have designed walls that can move into several different configurations that prevent sound from traveling to a space it should not travel to.  These walls allow for large spaces to have better noise control when divided into smaller spaces.

“STC and IIC requirements should be established early in the design phase. Depending on construction type (metal deck, concrete slab, wood frame, etc.) and type of floor covering, your structure will have different acoustic benefits/limitations. Carpet, for example, is extremely resilient. Thus, it will yield a much higher IIC rating than a denser flooring surface such as tile, hardwood, or vinyl. Acoustical rubber underlayment is among the most versatile and resilient product available, and different types of specialty acoustic underlayments have been engineered for specific types of flooring.” -Nate O’Donnell, Regupol Acoustics

Sound is an important part of our lives.  If quality of sound is not controlled then, people will not be happy with the space they live in.  In multifamily residential a common saying is “the walls are paper thin”.  Unwanted noise negatively impacts human health and behavior, contributing to stress, hypertension, sleep disturbances, and reduction in productivity.

-Alex Schleicher, Architectural Designer

Use Wood

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The building industry is one of the leaders in pollution and greenhouse gases.  Per the American Forest Foundation steel and concrete consume 12% and 20% more energy to produce, and emit 15% and 29% additional greenhouse gases than wood. To eliminate this statistic, substitute those high energy required materials with wood.  Examples of this have been provided below by the American Forest Foundation.

  • Constructing a wall using kiln-dried wood studs, oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing, and vinyl siding instead of concrete with an exterior stucco coating results in 15 pounds of avoided CO2 emissions for every square foot of wall area.
  • Using engineered wood I-joists with an OSB sub-floor rather than steel joists and OSB sub-flooring results in 22 pounds of avoided CO2 emissions for every square foot of floor area.

Wood is the most beautiful natural building material you can use.  The contrasting hues within its rich grain are often the perfect accent finish for a space.  It’s linear form of structure resembles the rhythm of Greek architecture, while also flexible enough to create free form spaces.

You might question the strength of wood versus some of the other materials mentioned.  True, however there has been great strides in wood technology.  Products like Cross Laminated Timber, and Glulam are making wood an acceptable material for building types such as arenas, gymnasiums, and multi-story structures. A study has found that Cross Laminated Timber is feasible for 12 stories and possibly more. In 2012 the International Code Council approved the use of cross laminated timber through the heavy timber construction classification.   In 2015 there were changes to the heights and area allowances for wooden structures. It is even possible to have unlimited building area. This can be met if the construction type is III, IV or V, and the structure has 60 feet or more of open space on all four sides.

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Woodworks commissioned two studies: one cost comparison, and one life-cycle assessment on the same big box project designed in steel versus wood.  It was found that the wooden building saved approximately 22% in construction costs, with many of the savings being from roof framing, wall framing, and roof insulation.  The study also concluded that the proposed wood building impacts are lower than the steel building in each category except ozone depletion, where the percentage was 5% higher.

It seems that technology in wood construction is providing ways to build larger structures, and the code councils are changing the restrictions to allow these structures to comply.  Perhaps we as an industry should look at wood as a more viable material for construction.

-Nathan Houser

Main blog image courtesy of Dezeen