Fifteen years in the past, Don Bellis needed to convey the idea of wood-fired pizza to the west coast. Somewhat homework with different enterprise homeowners informed him that the brand new restaurant could be his life, and he’d doubtless spend extra time on the restaurant than at house throughout the oncoming years.
So he determined to create a restaurant round a theme that appealed to him and his enterprise companion, Jay Gigandet: basic rock.
Starting with creating the menu for Rock Wooden Fired Pizza round basic rock songs, additionally they embraced a décor that might most likely finest be described as industrial salvage stylish. Suppose flames painted onto rest room stalls. A crumbling brick wall in a eating room. Rusted metal beams overhead within the bar space. And, in some eating places, classic autos.
The theme is generally a mirrored image of the homeowners’ sense of fashion. They’ve merely dreamed up options they’d prefer to see in eating places and added within the parts as they constructed. It’s value them however what it has introduced them is native notoriety and, in the long run, paying prospects.
However, Bellis notes, any restaurant that embraces a theme wants to verify it has the meals to convey prospects again. Nobody will eat dangerous meals simply to have a look at a cool room.
“Ambiance and theme will solely get you to date,” Bellis says. “In case you don’t have high quality meals to again it up, you’ll by no means make it. We are able to get them within the door with our theme, however as soon as they’ve the meals, they’re hooked for all times.”
Others agree. Randy White, CEO of White Hutchinson Leisure & Studying Group, a restaurant consulting fi rm based mostly in Kansas Metropolis, notes that meals has to come back first. “Everyone thinks a theme will create an expertise, however it doesn’t actually,” White says. “The downfall of the themed restaurant previously was the themes raised the development value and so they needed to increase the worth.”
Themes might be as delicate as selecting colours and textures for the inside of a restaurant, White says. He factors to Panera Bread as a efficiently themed restaurant, largely as a result of it feels snug and brings patrons in with its mixture of impartial colours and informal textures. It’s snug and homey, and prospects really feel they’ll sit and keep, which is what the restaurant operators need. “The reality of it’s, with nice theming, generally individuals don’t discover it,” White says.
To decide on a theme, first select your meals, then determine the worth level you’d prefer to hit. If you wish to draw households with youngsters, use shiny colours and resilient furnishings and finishes that may stand up to powerful visitors. In case your restaurant is designed to attract a extra high-dollar diner, take into account darkish wooden, brass, marble finishes and extra reserved colours.
One of many strongest parts that may assist decide the theme and temper of the restaurant is lighting, in addition to acoustics. White says these two items are uncared for in lots of restaurant plans, and so they would possibly decide if a restaurant will get repeat enterprise greater than every other aspect. “There’s an artwork to doing lighting appropriately,” White says. “Similar for acoustics, and lots of eating places completely ignore acoustics. Loud environments induce stress in individuals. I’ve been in eating places the place the wait particular person has to stoop down to listen to you.”
Most themes lately have a tendency in direction of informal, White says, because the American urge for food is swinging in direction of affordability. “You don’t see as a lot excessive finish,” White says. “The worth factors are extra reasonably priced, particularly if you’re concentrating on households.”
For Billy Lane, proprietor of Pizza Lane in Sumter, South Carolina, making a theme was a strategy to distinguish his restaurant from the entire different pizza eating places round. Lane was working as a Pizza Inn franchise, and when he reached the 20-year anniversary with Pizza Inn, he determined in opposition to signing a brand new franchise settlement. He needed to create a spot that honored the native historical past of his city and capitalize on his personal love of antiques. Over the previous 15 years, he has added varied parts to the restaurant that come from a few of Sumter’s long-time companies and remind patrons of years previous. For the youthful crowd, it may be an schooling within the historical past of their hometown.
“Every part within the restaurant, together with the architectural items, and drug shops, service stations, barber store, all the things I may get that was respectable memorabilia, I’ve it,” Lane says. “The entire individuals on this city love to come back in and reminisce.”
The primary room within the restaurant incorporates outdated teller home windows from a financial institution. Two different rooms borrow their theme from native theaters that after operated within the city, whereas the final is styled as an outdated filling station.
“I believe if I might have stored my identical décor, which was run of the mill Pizza Inn décor, I don’t assume I’d be in enterprise right this moment,” Lane says. “Once you stroll into our restaurant, it’s like coming right into a carnival. It’s unimaginable. It modified all the things. Folks need to are available due to it.” ?
Suggestions for making a themed eating room
It’s not so simple as scattering sports activities memorabilia round. A theme wants to contemplate each side of your restaurant. Listed below are some fundamental suggestions for profitable theming from designer Randy White:
? Begin with the meals. The kind of meals ought to have a big half in setting the décor.
? Decide a value level. Bear in mind, customized particulars value, and may drive up the price of development and, in the end, the worth factors on the menu. Watch out that your décor isn’t so costly that it causes you to boost prices.
? Choose informal particulars for household pleasant, cheaper price factors. Shiny lighting is one aspect that may assist set that temper.
? Choose upscale supplies for a high-end menu. Impartial colours, darkish wooden, brass and marble, in addition to low lighting, sign the next value level.
Robyn Davis Sekula is a contract author residing in New Albany, Indiana.
