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The following are excerpts from the Speak
Out on Design chapter that
appears in the 2nd edition of Successful Restaurant Design: Bill
Aumiller and Keith Youngquist Q: From your firm’s perspective, what constitutes good design? A: For us, good design is concept-driven. First comes the food concept. We take it from there to develop a design statement to show what people could expect in the restaurant. We strive for one cohesive statement. We don’t talk like designers, we talk like restaurateurs. We determine what the owners are trying to accomplish from a financial and design perspective. William V. Eaton Q: How can good kitchen design help decrease employee stress? A: We start by doing a great deal of workstation analysis that ensures that employees are provided with adequate workspace. We strive for shorter reaches and accessibility to the tools and equipment needed in each station. Then we consider little things, like adding color and reducing noise. We also strive for a design that allows servers and the kitchen staff to communicate effectively. Pat Kuleto Q: Speaking as a restaurant owner as well as a restaurant designer, what does successful restaurant design mean to you? A: First and foremost, a restaurant has to work. I may have a concept or idea for a location or space, but I always design it from a functional/operational standpoint first. I think of the layout from the perspective of all the key positions in the restaurant—chef, busser, waiter, dishwasher—and see how they need to do their jobs. If the place doesn’t work functionally, you may be missing some of the benefits that the space can bring. From an aesthetic perspective, design should make people feel comfortable. It also has to be an exciting, transporting, and dramatic enough experience to get people engaged. You want them to look around the space and feel thrilled to be there. After a while, however, that initial excitement settles down. To keep people coming back, a restaurant’s design should keep unfolding to reveal new features and reasons to return. Design should not scream at guests, and people should not be hit with the entire design on the first visit. There should be enough design surprises and subliminal experiences to draw customers back again and again. Anything that is successful has to last, so good design must have longevity. Today, this is more important than ever due to the high cost of opening a restaurant in the first place. Finally, good design doesn’t overpower the food. It’s in balance with the food. The above are excerpts of just three of the 15 interviews that appear in the 2nd Edition of Successful Restaurant Design.
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