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Just awarded two Michelin stars and topping Chicago magazine's list of 2013 Best New RestaurantsGrace underscores the notion that despite recession-induced moves toward casualization and lower check averages, there's still room on the American dining stage for high-end haute cuisine.

New "Southern Cityscape" Design Sizzles in Vegas!

Food critics most likely will never write about a restaurant's entrance. To them, it's all about the food and the service. Yet, the entranceway represents a key element — the first, in fact — of a dining experience. The entrance reflects the hospitality the staff will deliver once diners take their seats.

Take 'n' bake pizza leader Papa Murphy's debuted a new store prototype designed to engage guests' senses and give them a better view of the personalized fresh pizza-making process.

The newest blend at coffeehouse segment leader Starbucks? For store design, it's sustainability with a shot of convenience, brought to market in new LEED-certified drive-thru/walk-up-only modular stores fashioned out of recycled shipping containers.

Many restaurants have gone green on the inside, but what about the outside?

Is the era of authenticity in design finally coming to an end? Will distressed woods, rough metals and muted colors — which served to amplify a collective need for the genuine in a "new normal" — begin to disappear from restaurant design?

Carmel Cafe

New casual dining chain brings the art of modern Mediterranean cuisine and ambiance to life.