Business: As Time Goes By

To stay competitive, operators of older operations remodel interiors and redesign menus, sometimes creating entirely new concepts in the process.

By Kate Leahy, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 6/1/2007

Wayne Nish simplified his fine-dining concept, March, and reopened it as Nish with a new design and menu. The Four Seasons in Austin, Texas, is changing its restaurant’s design aesthetic from clubby (top) to modern and energetic (above). Charleston Grill General Manager Mickey Bakst says its old entrance and décor “had a very formal feel” ... ...while the new look is brighter and “screams ‘Come in.’”

Change is good—at least when it comes to attracting that elusive buzz that roams from restaurant to restaurant like a restless circus troupe.

Change also is entrenched in hospitality. One day operators are turning tables, and the next day they’re replacing them, along with the menu and the chef. But there’s more to change than a fresh coat of paint. Analyzing how foodservice operators stay current by remodeling or overhauling concepts not only sheds light on current dining trends but also yields insights into what operators predict consumers will want next.

One notable trend is a movement toward the middle. Many upscale restaurants are ditching starched tablecloths. Casual concepts seek focused, sophisticated interior spaces. The strategy shift involves more than appearances: Menus are under scrutiny, with rigid formulas comprising appetizers, entrées and desserts rewritten to promote consumer choice, value and flexibility. When done well, these and other changes build excitement for the moment and also stimulate repeat business.

Consider the experience of Chef-partner Wayne Nish, who recently did some soul searching with March, his well-respected 16-year-old restaurant in New York City.

"Because of our tasting menus and our price point, we were known as a special-occasion restaurant," Nish says. "We saw some of our customers exactly 16 times: once a year."

For Nish, major change came out of necessity. After Sept. 11, 2001, 30% of March’s business evaporated. Before that time, tasting menus had been a boon for the restaurant, with checks averaging $140 per person. While the economy rebounded, an influx of new restaurants stole the spotlight from established spots such as March.

Nish approached his business partner about lowering prices, moving away from the tasting-menu format and making the restaurant more casual. The space, now bearing the eponymous name Nish, reopened in January 2007 with an à la carte menu. Checks average $85 per person, and red lines run through pictures of caviar, truffles and foie gras on a sign hanging in the kitchen.

"I’m seeing most people coming in with smiles on their faces, saying that they can come back more often," Nish says. "There are definitely more neighborhood people coming in. It’s great."

Starting From Zed

A restaurant concept also can benefit from a fresh twist and a new name under different management. Such was the case with Zed 451, an emerging concept from San Francisco-based Tavistock Group. In 2006, Tavistock purchased Sal & Carvão—a three-unit, Chicago-area Brazilian churrascaria—attracted by the concept’s fixed-price menus and tableside service. But Tavistock was less taken with the concept’s strong Brazilian identity.

Chief Operating Officer Daniel Harf and his team decided to meld the tableside service with consumers’ embrace of celebrity chefs. At Zed 451, which is slated to open this summer, wait staff still will carve roast meat tableside, but they will wear chefs’ whites rather than Brazilian gaucho outfits.

"We took the gaucho [image] and said, ‘Let’s reshape this. They’re not really gauchos, they’re chefs. Let’s hire chefs, dress them as chefs and let’s make sure that they can convey the passion for the food that they’re preparing,’" Harf says.

Extensive rebranding isn’t always necessary, though. Rather than overhauling the brand, many established operators look to refresh their concepts through remodeling.

"[Operators] are coming to us with the dilemma of keeping the same-store sales on the rise," says Brian Stys, vice president of Boston-based Shawmut Design and Construction’s restaurant group. He acknowledges that remodeling is far more common than rebranding. Above all, it’s more economical, and secondly, operators don’t have to close their doors and risk losing loyal business.

For Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern, the process was more about spring cleaning than concept overhaul. Clay Dover—executive vice president and chief concept officer for Bennigan’s parent Plano, Texas-based Metromedia Restaurant Group—is working on initiatives to give Bennigan’s interior design a refreshed, modern feel.

"In today’s competitive landscape, there are so many choices and so many new concepts, especially with the advent of fast casual," Dover says. "These are often in newer facilities. For brands such as ours, you have to change to adapt. Who wants to eat in a place with 25-year-old relics?"

But renovating existing infrastructures isn’t always a frugal route, notes Paula Amols, dining project manager at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Maxed-out electrical capacities can lead to expensive renovations in existing facilities. To prepare for growth, Amols insists that designs for new buildings account for extra water and electrical capacities in case the needs of campus foodservice change. She calls the concept "future proofing."

Design and Conquer

Sometimes it takes more than a remodel to save a concept connected to a fading era or fad.

Karl Hasz, a design consultant and founder of San Francisco-based Hasz Construction, notes that several restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area have had to adjust in the last several years. "Everyone is getting away from the dot-com era," he says. "It had a plastic feel. There were a lot of bright colors with everyone making a statement. People are going with a softer, more muted appeal. It’s more toned down."

Hasz is working on rebranding a space in which two concepts have struggled. Spoon, which was one of San Francisco’s first small-plates restaurants, morphed into Tablespoon, featuring more refined plates. But the restaurant never quite found its niche; the menu often was at odds with the casual service style. Now, the space is trading industrial touches for soft lighting, natural tones and more private seating. Menu prices will be lowered to encourage neighborhood business.

As interest in chef-driven concepts grows, many hotel restaurants remain burdened with dated dining rooms that hide the chef behind oversized floral-print chairs. Here, too, the trend is toward casual elegance.

"Honestly, it boils down to business," says Mickey Bakst, general manager at the Charleston Grill at Charleston Place, an Orient-Express hotel in Charleston, S.C. "You have to look at your market and who you’re competing against."

The restaurant closed for five weeks and reopened with a bright feel and a modern menu. Chef Bob Waggoner reconsidered his classic French style and now develops dishes around loosely interpreted themes such as "Cosmopolitan" and "Southern."

"As a result of the change, I have seen our customer demographics change," Bakst says. "We’re seeing younger people and more people laughing. They’re spending the same amount of money as before, maybe even more."

Like Charleston Place, The Four Seasons in Austin, Texas, decided to close its restaurant The Café and reopen the space as Trio in the fall. Although the dining room will be markedly more contemporary, the menu will reflect a turn to simplicity, evidenced by a focus on ingredients rather than complicated technique. "The dining experience is always changing," says General Manager Tom Segesta. "We had an opportunity to make those changes, appeal to our customers and give them something that has changed with the times."

Mall Makeover

It’s no secret that malls and restaurants enjoy a great symbiotic business relationship, with each attracting and retaining customer attention longer than either could in a standalone space. But restaurants in malls also have different rules.

Brian Stys, vice president of Boston-based Shawmut Design and Construction’s restaurant group, notes that restaurants often sign leases that contain refurbishment clauses. He predicts that more and more operators will have to spend money remodeling their restaurants as leases come up. “If you’re a high-volume restaurant, flooring is something you’re going to have to look at,” he says. “You’re also going to take a look at tables and chairs. Ceiling tiles might need to be replaced. It’s mostly cosmetics. That’s what mall operators are interested in.”