How do I find the right designer?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Stephen J Serva Dei on May 17, 2008 at 10:44am

Duane,

My advice is to find TWO designers - one who is very experienced in restaurant workflow logisitcs - who can design the kitchen and the foh so that it can produce great food at speed to a very high standard. Then use the services of another designer to create the atmosphere you envision to create. It's a bit like desiging a car - but more difficult!

Create a logistical workflow and then finish it accordingly. No matter how good a restaurant looks, its; primary function is to serve customers... oh and running a restaurant is one of the quickest ways to say 'goodbye' to your investment if you do not have experienced people, great organisation and standard operating procedures and trading/staff/buying policies in place.

Permalink Reply by Brad Jenkins on May 21, 2008 at 10:04am

Duane,
Yes, I agree with Stephen, you will need two designers, one for the front of house, and one for the kitchen.

A great designer can produce an interior of any style and vision by doing the proper amount of theme research. You need to hook up with a compelling designer.

I am such a designer located in NJ. Give me a call to discuss your project and see if I might be the right fit.


Brad Jenkins
Phone (973) 331-1995
Mobile (201) 213-5074

Permalink Reply by Duane Harden on May 21, 2008 at 9:05pm

Thanks guys... that's great advice... I'll definitely follow-up... I'm glad to know I can find great people like you who are willing to give advice to a beginner like me.

Permalink Reply by Stephen J Serva Dei on May 21, 2008 at 11:13pm

Hi Duane,

I do 'remote' kitchen design and workflow logistics using 2D & 3D design software that you can easily view and 'walk' through. When you are designing your restaurant it is extremely important to make it easy at the design stage for your staff to do what it is they need to do. I have been in this business since 1976 and have worked in every positiion (almost) of the catering industry. I have travelled to over 50 countries studying Applied Meta-Physics (the science of making the ideal real) while learning my profession so when I design a food production unit (kitchen/restaurant/game farm/hotel, etc) it is designed logistically to generate the income at the speed required while setting and maintaining exacting standards. I also offer exclusive support manuals and documentation that will enable you to open, run, maintain and close your business each day with the minimum of fuss. Everything from pre-opening manuals to recruiting material - thru job descriptions - menu plans, food storage manuals, disciplinary manuals - advertising and promotions - everything you may need to make sure you keep your finger on the pulse of your business. I also sell a complete range of franchise manuals and have been instrumental in setting up a number of new franchises over the years...

If you feel you need my services, I will be happy to send you an overview and some samples of my work.

For now,

Stephen
servadei@iafrica.com

Permalink Reply by Stephani Robson on July 31, 2008 at 2:24pm

I agree with the other posters about the left brain-right brain blend of design talent you need. But how to find the right people? The easiest and best way (and it'll be even easier for you, being in a city with a lot of other operations to look at) is to visit operations that you admire and ask who did their work. Don't limit yourself to other hookah operations -- look at coffee bars, delis', cafes... any place that you think is particularly well put together from either a FOH or BOH perspective. Most restaurateurs are happy to talk about how they created their facilities and will share names with you (or tell you who to avoid!)

Permalink Reply by Stephen J Serva Dei on November 3, 2008 at 4:15pm

Here are some notes on an enquiry I received as a result of posting some comments on FohBoh... The writer is considering setting up a new franchise and asked for my input. I have put his comments in point form and my comments directly underneath the points.

I welcome comments from other members...

Good day (name not published),

Thank you for the information, here are some comments questions for you to consider regarding the information you sent.

1. I am launching a new fast casual restaurant chain.

Have you done the necessary research to ensure that your concept will be acceptable to your target market?

Doing the right research means establishing that there is a NEED for your type of outlet and that it offers something different from present offerings.

2. The target customer includes university students, faculty, and local residents within major university towns.

What is their average spend per head and how many meals per day do you need to make sure that your business model shall grow and prosper until it has an established share of the market?

3. The menu is simple and small, and includes a combination of Indian and Middle Eastern street food.

Are there enough people that eat the style of food you are proposing to offer? Are your recipes sound? Able to be reproduced consistently? / Or do you propose to set up a central kitchen to create a supply chain of pre-prepared foods?

MANY places that aim at a certain ethnic group do not realise that their share of the market place is smaller immediately they aim products at cultural groups.

The marketplace is 100% - aiming at a cultural group reduces the target market, then aiming at students reduces the amount of disposable income - be careful to shape the business so that you retain your brand and style but still appeal to as much of each income/cultural group as possible.

The ideal to fill a 'gap' in the market by aiming at minority groups is often the ideal that swallows up smaller operator's investment.

4. Our goal is to also keep the restaurants simple and small like the menu, almost like a hole in the wall restaurant with great food.

This is a great ideal - that many people have failed to achieve over the years because unless you have an established food production kitchen, the range of work required to prepare GREAT FOOD is just too large for small spaces and things tend to get messy and otherwise good concepts get turned on their head. To make this work and offer a GREAT RANGE of GREAT tasting meals,
you need to plan very carefully and design the menu with enough mix-n-match ingredients.

Fortunately Indian food is open to this kind of preparation ahead and quick service. (You do not say what area of India your food is, is it North or South Indian?)

5. This should help us keep our overhead low and profitability high.

Aim for a financial model that works and then WORK it. many people try to force unhealthy formulas and go under because they try to squeeze blood out of a stone. Generating a fair and steady income is preferable to trying to generate unreasonable profits and creating undue stress for everyone concerned.

You do not say what experience you have in the business, but on an INTERNATIONAL SCALE about 80% of food outlets close in the first year, of the remaining 20% - 80% of those close within the next 2 years. (These figures change depending on the source - but the % of new business that do not make it past the first 3 years is very high).

ALL who do so make the same mistakes, are under capitalized, or try to move mountains while standing on thin ice!

6. The problem is in creating that ambiance within our restaurants without spending a fortune.

Fortunately - depending on the available artisans in your area - Indian culture is RICH in vibrant colours and aromas and textures that are both cost effective and practical for use in the restaurant trade.

Now, as it happens I have a client who owns and runs a group of North Indian style restaurants here in Jhb and the approach is VERY similar to what you are looking for. I set up the whole system and created all the materials for a central distribution system - and the menu - while being extensive is very quick to produce, the kitchen spaces small and the service bar also very small.

The decor uses RICH dark wood colours, traditional Indian Murals and we created a spice display drawer that is on display but under a sheet of glass so the aromas of the restaurant are constantly wafting through the restaurant from the Tandoori oven and the kitchen - so customers are greeted with a fresh display of the spices and their aroma - used in the dishes on the menu.

When I opened and ran one his flagship restaurant for him we turned the restaurant over 1.5 times for lunch and 2-3 times for dinner. My client has a policy of closing his restaurants when he has done his quota - which means he usually closes the kitchen at 9.30 in the evenings! - while many other restaurants around him stay open late and do not increase turnover proportionally.

The way to achieve this is through food service logistics, designing the facilities in such a way that everything is on hand, when you need it and designing everything so that the kitchen can cope with extended peak periods and still produce top quality, great tasting food - every day.

North Indian Cuisine:

(See photos uploaded x 3)

7.Seating should be limited to approximately 30 patrons.

Rather than limiting the seating area (which is important from a cost-rental point of view) - and a very common approach - a MUCH better approach is to design the facilities to the 'nth' degree making sure to custom build the space so that it can produce quality meals FAST. You will not always find floor space that will be the right size - so the constant in your company must be the logistics, the system and the methodology - which you can adapt to almost any shape and size of room.

Design a formula that allows enough space for everything: stores, wash up facilities, prep area, cooking area, traffic, etc - then the size of the seating area can expand or shrink according to the available size - the important thing is that if you are serving GREAT FOOD FAST you will develop a
reputation that will enable you to turn over tables and do take aways that will keep your turnover healthy.

Example:

In London some while back I ran the kitchen of a 54 seat Bistro with an American/French/Continental menu. The menu included all the popular western
style choices, Pizza, Burgers, Pasta, Ribs, Goulash, Noodles, Fries, etc. The
kitchen was run by myself and 2 assistants - yet we were so well organized
that we turned the tables twice at lunch (3 sittings) and between 4 and 5
times every evening and we were open 7 days a week.

Average time for starters on the table was 6 minutes. Mains 15 mins - if
there was no starter and 25 mins if there was... we ran a queue from the
moment we were open and often turned people away - especially on Friday and
Saturday evenings.

The reason for being able to do this kind of volume volume was that we
prepared and worked our plan every day, identifying flaws and correcting them
immediately we recognized them.

The fact is that restaurants that do really well, do so because the people
involved plan thoroughly and then back up their vision and plan with
determined effort - building a reputation that forges ahead to generate a
loyal customer base.

8.We also considered adding free WIFI in the facility for the benefit of the
students, and keeping it open late.

Free Wi-Fi is GREAT, and a valuable add-on. The trick is to make sure that the client hogging the table for 4 people while nursing a cappuccino for 2 hours does not prevent you from feeding 8 people at the same table.

You need to identify if you are going to be a fast food restaurant or a meeting place, or somewhere to do homework! Give the control of the style of your business to the customer and you will always be on a shifting base - determine what services you are going to offer and how and keep the decisions to yourself and your management team - the very act of providing great food
and service will generate enough business to make sure you do not fall into the style of thinking that tempts you into trying to become all things to all men.

Remember, GREAT FOOD is the ONE aspect of life that people will fly over oceans to experience once your reputation is sealed. Now, the same principle applies to smaller businesses - the geographical circle smaller - but the same principle applies:

Look after the food and your reputation will look after you.

9. We can also obtain a liquor license, so we are considering it. If we did, we may add a couple flat panel screens to show university sports games, events, and other programming.

Once again, you seem unclear about your objectives, limit to 30 seats, liquor license, TV screens, etc... you really need to clarify your objectives and determine what market you are going for and focus on letting it know that for their style of food and price range, YOU ARE THE FIRST GUY TO CALL.

Many operators try to introduce too many aspects to act like fly paper to passing clients and end up with non descript businesses that tick over but give no one any real satisfaction - neither operators, customers or owners,

10. I have also completed a business plan including financials, but would like to get your thoughts on the concept first.

I sincerely hope my comments help you. Some remarks may seem harsh, but their purpose is to encourage you to think your concept and plan everything thoroughly BEFORE you start investing large amounts of money. Harsh as some comments may seem, they are a feather's touch compared to the harsh reality of debt collectors and a 'for sale' sign that will only generate tears and
misery because the shiny new equipment you bought only generates 1/4 of the
price you paid for it and you are left up to your ears in debt....

11.What do you believe it would cost to construct a proper design for this concept?

I AM not familiar with the pricing of equipment in your location, but I would work with you to help you determine the most practical solution - and if you are comfortable with my approach I can assist with FOHBOH design and layout - as I have experience in both - personally I always design from a practical operations point of view and then decorate the restaurant accordingly.

After all, it does not matter how nice your restaurant looks if the design does not allow each outlet to generate a healthy income.

From a Franchise point of view - there are certain stages you have to pass through and prove your concept before you can ethically franchise your system.

1. Franchising is a SYSTEM - if you have no system, you have no franchise.

This is the most common shortcoming of the majority of franchisors - they either:

Have a system but do not implement it
Do not have a system but a chain of stores operating using the same name

There are of course many other variations, but these are the most common.

Franchisors often think they can make money from franchisees - instead of building a strong network of loyal customers. (Franchisors that just make money from 'selling' outlets have their days numbered simply because they have lost the focus of what franchising is all about).

The IDEAL for setting up a Franchised system is to:

Develop the long term goal
Get all the relevant materials together
Make sure you have someone dealing with every aspect of the business: Buying,
design, recipes, bookkeeping, advertising, etc, etc, etc
Open the proof of concept store
Iron out the problems - as many as you can identify
Work your plan and refine your system
Identify your training style and know what skills every person in the organization should have
Refine your system
Refine your system again - get someone with suitable experience to guide you.

ALWAYS aim to keep your standards high - good, healthy fast food builds a customer base - many food outlets have made the mistake of thinking that because a substance is edible, that it is food, it is not!!!

When you have a SYSTEM that is proven, you can then GRANT A LICENSE to suitably qualified person to use YOUR SYSTEM and the management fee you will receive is for oiling the system and keeping it refined.

Franchising offers a GREAT opportunity, but it requires more planning than the average person understands and it requires a DRIVER who can guide it through each of its stages until the Franchise is a National/International Brand.

The costs in setting up a Franchise are considerable - depending on how many stores you intend to open - the ground work in establishing the Franchise takes a lot of time, effort and expertise. There are tools available and consultants you can consult, so when you are ready, have thought your idea
through thoroughly we can look at the real costs in terms of investment in time and finances to make sure your franchise is launched with the right driver, going in the right direction.

Thank you for your enquiry, I look forward to hearing from you - I shall be posting a copy of this email on FOHBOH in the restaurant design section - if you have no objection.

For now...

Stephen J Serva Dei
Business Management Meta-Physics

PS:

Here is a review of one of my client's restaurants:

Shahi Khana

http://www.tonight.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=273536&fSectionId...

Note: The photographs are from the New Dehli Indian Restaurant in Village Walk Shopping Centre, Johannesburg North, South Africa.

For now...

Stephen J Serva Dei

Attachments:

• newdelhi1.jpg, 6 KB
• newdelhi2.jpg, 10 KB
• newdelhi3.jpg, 8 KB

Permalink Reply by Joseph Szala on March 9, 2009 at 9:29am

Hey there Duane,
A designer can be found easily, but a GOOD designer is a mixture of accolades, portfolio, qualifications and gut reaction.

You should have a combination of interior/architect for the physical location, a kitchen work flow designer and a branding/marketing firm to help create the branding, marketing and advertising of the restaurant.

AvroKO has done great work in the NY market. www.avroko.com

The right people have the experience and the previous successes. Follow up with their past clients and references.

Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Christine van Rooy on April 1, 2009 at 2:56pm

Hi Duane,
There are many designers nationwide, but very few that specialize in restaurant design and development. These designers understand all the codes, compliances, and typical conditions they face with coordinating all the trades. For example, they are used to working with kitchen consultants, food service equipment specialist, electrical, mechanical and plumbing coordination, grease interceptors, etc. the list goes on. In some cases, if the designer specializes in restaurants they may already have the other specialist you may need.
The price varies significantly within this industry. Therefore, I would recommend deciding on a price that you are comfortable with. Be prepared to pay between $3 to $12 s.f. for services & $50 to $250 s.f. for the build out. Obviously you see the huge difference in price . . . the same goes for the qualifications for designers & architects.
Here are some high end designers for inspiration: ICraveDesign, Tony Chi, Tihany, Rockwell, Dodd Mitchell & Jeffery Beers.
Some Mid Range: Steven Langford Architects, Hatch Design Group
I am also a restaurant design specialist and would be happy to discuss your needs or answer any question you may have at any time, even if you need help deciding on another company. Feel free to contact me directly at christine@vanrooydesign.com
Cheers,
Christine van Rooy, CID
VANROOY design

Permalink Reply by Robin Sylvester on April 21, 2009 at 11:06am

Hello,
We design international and themed resturants in the US and abroad. We have over 30 years expierence try going to our website and check out our work, maybe we can be of help for you.

Thank you for your time,
pavlikdesign.com

Robin

Permalink Reply by Stephen J Serva Dei on June 6, 2009 at 1:27am

Hey Duane, one year down the line... did you realise your project yet???