Design

Using signage correctly can enhance your customers’ experience — and your brand.

Fazoli’s brought the inside outside as part of a signage upgrade of its drive-thru. The goal of the upgrade included highlighting freshness, furthering the branding, emphasizing value and making the entire experience more pleasant.

A few weeks ago, I visited a restaurant profiled in an earlier issue. The design called for putting up a grand chandelier above the bar area, but there were delays and then budget worries and then logistical challenges, and they never got around to even getting — let alone putting up — that chandelier. On my visit, I looked up at the vaulted space where lights and crystals were supposed to be and wondered if the absence of that piece made a difference to the guests.

Predicting the future is easy, but predicting the future accurately can be really hard. Contributing Editor Caroline Perkins makes that point very clearly in the intro of her article Technology and Convenience: The Restaurant of the Future.

Designed by Yuna Megre for restaurateur Alexander Sorkin, Beef Royal in Moscow is a spacious steakhouse with two VIP lounges and a terrace overlooking a waterfront. Natural materials such as stone, concrete and leather dominate the luxurious, custom designed and built space.

David Tracz, AIA, LEED AP, //3877, outlines his favorite restaurant trends.

Starbucks opened its first location in Italy, a Reserve Roastery in Milan, located inside the historic Poste building in Piazza Cordusio. The coffee behemoth plans to bring additional cafes to Milan beginning in late 2018.

One of the most popular new restaurants on the Washington, D.C. dining scene is Maydan, which offers food from Northern Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus and beyond.

Located in Detroit’s Capital Park, Prime & Proper is a new, high-end steakhouse that blends classic touches with bold, modern design elements.