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Tava Indian Kitchen announced a makeover that includes a new name, logo, restaurant design and an updated menu.

As a Mexican casual dining chain based in New England — a region better known for lobster and clam chowder — Margaritas Mexican Restaurant represents something of an anomaly.

Mid-century modernism is back in fashion in a big way, both for commercial and residential spaces, and it’s a throwback trend that restaurateurs and designers are embracing in fresh new ways (see below for recent examples). The announcement in early March by the James Beard Foundation, naming The Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City as its inaugural Design Icon Restaurant Award winner, may fan the flames. This truly iconic restaurant is the real deal, an authentic, timeless representation of mid-century design at its oh-so-elegant best.

Refreshing a restaurant is like updating old recipes: some need a dash of salt, while others require the addition of entirely new ingredients. As time passes, any establishment can benefit from a redo — no matter the scale. For restaurant operators, updating your environment is not only important, it can be vital to continued success in the ever-changing foodservice industry.

Those same entrepreneurs who mined the past for food and drink concepts like speakeasies and tiki bars are looking to the 1970s and 1980s for inspiration. Contemporary takes on the fern bar are filtered through a lens of nostalgia rather than accurate recreations — perhaps more influenced by the Regal Beagle pub in the ’70s sitcom Three’s Company than real life. The concept appeals, designers say, both to those Boomers who remember fern bars fondly as well as the Millennials and X-ers just now discovering them.

Window coverings are one of the first things guests see when approaching a restaurant, and in this business, first impressions matter. On the exterior, you want to appear welcoming. On the interior, you want every detail to look great.

Not even a full year after the first and second locations opened in Scarsdale and Rye, N.Y., a third WUJI restaurant is on track to open in Greenwich, Conn., this spring.

The dining and drinking scene in Minneapolis has changed dramatically in just the last few years. As more chef-driven, design-forward restaurants and casual eateries open in burgeoning neighborhoods, it’s easier to get a taste of this expanding culinary market. Here are three design-forward concepts making an impact in this market.