RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE AND DESIGN

***Some Definitions:

Atmosphere – the overall mood that may also be referred to as the ambience or energy of the space.
Flow Pattern - the process of delivering food and beverages to customers. These are the logistics, the
methods and routes used to transfer items from the kitchen, to the dining tables, and, finally, to the
dishwasher.

Creating an Atmosphere:

The development of a successful design begins with a firm concept for the restaurant. You have to
have an image before you can decide how to convey and promote that image. This applies whether you
are opening a brand-new eatery or repositioning an existing concept to build business.
***Today’s dining designs focus on:
- making space comfortable
- making space inviting, while keeping a consistent theme.
***The hallmarks of modern restaurants are:
- Efficiency
- Value
- Convenience
***Modern design trends: more kitchen activity is “out front”.
- display kitchens
- wood-burning ovens
- sauté stations
They showcase the chef and staff members for customers to watch and they display fresh ingredients. As
a result, the guest experience is enhanced, the food quality improves, and profitability increases.

***Rule for developing atmosphere: provide a change of pace

- know your customer and know what would be “a change of pace for them”
examples:
- Lunch in a bright, casual café provides a respite from the everyday office cubicle for an
office worker
. - Outdoor dining on an umbrella-covered patio is much better than a windowless office -- - A
glowing fireplace in a corner of the room is very inviting when the weather is cold

***Environmental Psychology – study of reasons that people feel certain ways about seating, lighting,
music and other design elements.

***5 Design Elements:

- space
- color
- lighting
- noise
- temperature

***Key to good dining space design: provide a balance between comfort, security, and the guests
tolerance to stimulation
- this addresses the two basic human needs which is the root of all guests behavior:
***security - Humans like to have their own special space, sufficient for comfort and
protected from intrusion
***stimulation - They also like their environment to be interesting and engaging, within limits
Thinking about your own dining experiences can help you grasp this concept more fully.
- Do you notice that when given the choice, most people would rather sit at a booth on
the perimeter of a dining area than out in the middle of the room at a table?
 basic subgroups:
Quick-service restaurants (QSR), formerly known as fast food and not to be confused
with fast casual (a term discussed in greater detail later in this chapter), midscale, and
upscale. These subgroups are not clear-cut; the lines between them blur often in today’s mar-
ket. That’s why it is so important to determine who your potential customers will be—what
market segments you will serve—before you settle on a concept.
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THE DINING EXPERIENCE

Creating a Concept
What are the variables in creating a concept? Here are the four big ones:
1. Food. What type of food will be offered? What is the style of preparation? How extensive will the menu be?
What will the price range be?
2. Service. How will the food be made available to the guest? Self-service? Counter service? Or full service,
where the guest is seated and a waitstaff takes orders? In each of these situations, the overall aim is that all
guests feel reasonably well cared for by the employees who serve them.
3. Design/Décor. There are as many options here as there are restaurants. In general, however, the building’s
exterior should be inviting. Its interior should be comfortable and clean. The noise level should reflect
the style of eatery. Very important: No matter how cavernous the room, seated guests must feel a sense
of intimacy, of being able to watch the action without feeling “watched” themselves. This is a major
component of most people’s basic comfort and safety needs.
4. Uniqueness. In marketing, you’ll hear the term “unique selling proposition,” or “USP.” A USP is like a
signature. Everyone’s is a little bit different, and the difference makes it special in some way.
A good restaurant concept will have USPs that enable it to attract and retain patrons. Some examples: A
restaurant relies on homemade crackers and luscious cream soups as its hallmark, or serves the town’s biggest cut
of prime rib, or offers a selection of fresh pies that most moms don’t have time to make anymore. Eating estab-
lishments with the best USPs provide instantly noticeable differences that distinguish them from their competitors.
Take a look back at the restaurants you just listed. Can you easily determine their USPs?
***The Design Team
- owner representative
- architect (with engineering, mechanical, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning
***[HVAC] professional advisers)
- Interior designer
- kitchen designer
- foodservice consultant
- general contractor, with construction crew (builders, plumbers, painters, electricians, roofers,
etc.)

***More complex jobs may include other types of specialists—

- lighting,
- landscaping,
- acoustics,
- kitchen exhaust consultants, and so on.

Equipment suppliers usually offer design services, but you should not rely only on their
recommendations

***In choosing an architectural firm, always consider:

- experience with similar projects
- experience with foodservice facilities
- performance on past projects
- experience of the team
- team chemistry

***“TOP 10” DESIGN MISTAKES

1. Inconsistent ambience. Theme, space, layout and flow patterns. Colors, materials, lighting, graphics,
and artwork. Uniforms, linens, menus, dishes, and signage. All should complement each other. When
they do, it implies great attention to detail. The big restaurant chains seem to have grasped this centrality
of design continuity, but small restaurants, probably in their quest to cut costs, seem to treat visual
aspects of the dining experience as an unnecessary expense.

2. Too many people involved in the decision-making process. It is good to have candid input and a variety
of opinions in the design process, but there must be one person who drives the design program.
Otherwise, you end up with a mishmash of ideas and skyrocketing costs as you experiment with them.
Also, be sure to include the chef in decision making.

3. The target market is forgotten. This happens when the owner or manager defines the tone, menu, and
concept based on what he or she wants instead of what truly fits the location. This mistake is made often
in suburban areas, where the customer base can afford an upscale concept but the restaurateur opts for
a middle-of-the-road concept.

4. Inadequate space between tables. It is not unusual to underestimate the level of intimacy in a given
concept, but you should leave at least 3.5 feet between tables so servers can do their jobs comfortably.
Casual dining can cut the space a bit, to a range of 24 to 36 inches, but for fine dining, there should be a
full 4 feet between tables.

5. Traffic patterns are overlooked. This refers to the movement of people within the space, both guests
and employees. Major sins include placing the kitchen too far from the dining room and restricting
movement into and out of the kitchen. Good service and comfort are the result of uncluttered circulation
patterns, or flow,

6. Unrealistic budgets. There are no fixed budget guidelines for restaurants, which results in too much
variation. Unrealistic budgets come back to haunt a project. Most major expenses are covered, but what
about the so-called soft costs—insurance, permit fees, advertising? Some consultants suggest a
contingency budget of 10 to 20 percent, just to cover possible cost overruns.

7. Cutbacks in non-revenue-producing space. It is important to balance the idea of more seats in the
dining room with sufficient space in the kitchen to produce the foods the menu promises. Municipal fire
and building codes and requirements must be met.

8. Poor lighting. Lighting is more than the need not to have darkness. A lighting mistake can actually be
offensive to guests if the results are too harsh, too dim, or at angles that make the atmosphere
uncomfortable. Pick a lighting style and stick with it rather than using four or five different types of fixtures
to achieve everything from walkway lighting, to enhancing food presentation, to making diners look good.
And never light directly at eye level.

9. Offensive colors. The use of color impacts the way the food looks as well as the mood of the dining
room. Blue feels “frozen in space”; warm hues, such as reds or browns, are generally more inviting.
Consider colors that either invigorate or relax the dining space.

10. Forgetting the future. Restaurants need a plan for growth, so they can respond to it without major
expense. You can do things like expand the dining area and add a banquet room or private dining room
only if the original design was created to allow for this at a reasonable cost.

DESIGN CONSIDERATION THAT MATTER IN THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE GUEST

FOLLOW THE GUEST :

Now that we know something about the components of atmosphere, let’s follow a hypothetical guest, Mr.
Smith as he approaches a restaurant. His reasons for choosing this particular place, even though they
may be spur of the moment, require some serious judgments on his part, as you’ll see.

***Some factors that may affect the guest in deciding on where to eat:
Convenient location - It’s close to work or home; he was so hungry he didn’t want to
drive far.
Outside signage - It’s clearly a Tex-Mex place, and he loves Tex-Mex food; lunch
special sign indicates a bargain or sale price.
Parking - An empty space right up front; on the convenient side of the street for him;
doesn’t look too crowded and he’s in a hurry.
Architecture - Resembles a fast-food Tex-Mex place he already likes; building and
grounds look clean and inviting.

This impromptu lunch search is almost like wandering around a library after deciding you want to read
something. The cover of the book will entice a reader to pick it, out of rows and rows of other books.

***4 THINGS THAT MATTER TO CUSTOMERS AND INFLUENCE THEM.

1) First Impressions
Both quick-service and table-service chain restaurants rely heavily on exterior appearance as marketing
tools. McDonald’s golden arches provide instant recognition. T.G.I. Friday’s, although not all are alike,
have similar exteriors that make it impossible to confuse them with any other chain.
For independent restaurants, the only warning is that it is often difficult to inherit a once well-
known location and mask its former identity without costly reconstruction. Simply repainting an old
popular chain store for instance, and opening a Thai restaurant there instead is not a wise decision.
Mr. Smith approaches the front door. Remember, he already has plenty of impressions from what
he’s seen in the parking lot: the other customers’ cars, front signage, the landscaping, whether the lot is
clean or littered. He hasn’t decided to eat here—he’s still just checking it out. The next thing he
encounters is the door itself. Is it heavy wood with beveled glass insets? Clean, clear, glass? A sleek,
colorful laminate? Even the doorknob or handle is a key to what awaits him inside. Whatever the case,
the door should be easy to open. He then enters the restaurant.

2) Entryway Etiquette
In terms of environmental psychology, the entryway should be designed to show guests exactly what they
are in for when they arrive. Remember, not everyone who enters the space has already committed to
eating there, so the entryway is where they will decide whether they are comfortable enough to stay. If
your plans include a lively bar or an open kitchen, make sure it is visible from the waiting area or
host/hostess stand. Offer a view of some of the dining tables too, and seat those tables first so the
restaurant looks busy.
Although some restaurants have eliminated reception areas and waiting rooms as a way to save
space and money, others use them for a variety of purposes.

***Some alternative uses of entryways and reception areas

- Pay phones, newsstands with free local publications, or cigarette machines are placed here.
- Cash register and host/hostess stand are located here.
- In quick service, the front counter is here.
- Menus and daily specials are displayed here.
- Waiting diners sit or stand here.
- Wines or prepared desserts are displayed here.
- Raw foods are displayed, perhaps in glass cases: whole salmon on ice, fresh meats or pasta, lobsters in
a bubbling tank.
If a waiting or serving line is the norm, make it very clear where this line begins and ends, with
signs, railings, and partitions.
Whether it is the prelude to an elegant dining experience or the start of a fast-food line, the
waiting area should be very clean, properly lit, and temperature-controlled for the guests’ comfort.
And there’s our guest, Mr. Smith, waiting (rather impatiently) for a table. He says he wants the
“best seat in the house.” Don’t they all?

3) Dining Area Layout

Restaurateurs like to think every seat is the “best,” of course. When designing the dining area,
a well-planned scheme carefully shapes the customer’s perception with these components:
- Table shapes, sizes, and positions
- Number of seats at each table
- Multiple floors, steps, or elevated areas of seating
- Paintings, posters, or murals
- Type and intensity of lighting
- Planters, partitions, or screens
- Attention to sight lines, to block any undesirable view (restroom, kitchen, service areas)
- Muffling of distracting noises (clattering dishes, outside traffic, or construction)
- Placement of service areas (coffee stations, dirty dish bins, etc.)
Each of the preceding considerations plays a role in creating the flow pattern of the restaurant,
the process of delivering food and beverages to customers. These are the logistics, the methods and
routes used to transfer items from the kitchen, to the dining tables, and, finally, to the dishwasher.
- How well can the waiters manage full trays of food?
- How far is it from the kitchen to the dining area? Where are the guest checks prepared for
delivery to tables, and where do customers pay for their food?
- Does anyone have to hike up and down stairs? How hard is it for Mr. Smith to negotiate a path
to his table on this busy day? When seating guests, does the hostess sometimes seem more
like a traffic cop?
Even though other facets of design can be out of the ordinary, when it comes to flow patterns, the
simpler the better. Customer and employee safety should be paramount.
Remember that most of us tend to walk to the right of other, oncoming persons. Think of the room as a
neighborhood and the flow as the major streets in that neighborhood. Avoid traffic congestion, and
everybody likes living there.
Consider the maximum number of seats allowed in the space as well as the average time you want
customers to spend at a table. Generally, the faster the turnover, the greater the need for clear flow
patterns that do not cross. Conversely, if dining is to be leisurely, flow should be designed mostly to make
the wait staff seem as unobtrusive as possible.
In terms of environmental psychology, most people would rather sit with some type of
architectural fixture on at least one side of them—a wall or window or column—which helps them define
their space. Another design rule is that tables of different shapes and sizes should be mixed to create
visual harmony. A lineup that’s too orderly evokes more of a military mess
hall image.

Restroom Facilities
Back to our fictitious Mr. Smith. At this point, he has been seated, has admired the surroundings
and has ordered his lunch. Now he goes into the restroom to wash up.

***“The single most critical public perception of a restaurant is that if the restroom is clean, so is
the kitchen”
—and, of course, the reverse is also considered true. All too often, especially during busy times, the
restrooms are neglected because no one on staff has been given specific responsibility for checking on
them.
A study published in Restaurant Hospitality magazine (May 2004) focused on guests’ perceptions
of the restrooms in 100 different restaurants. The leading quality indicator was “clean toilets,” closely
followed by other cleanliness-related attributes such as “no sticky floor,” “clean area around the toilet,”
and “no trash.” Of the respondents, 78 percent agree that a clean restroom is a “strong indication” of a
clean kitchen; 94 percent believe that cleanliness is “more important today than ever before.” From food-
borne illnesses to avian flu, the public has been bombarded with information about the importance of
hand washing to prevent disease.
Although customers don’t spend more than a few minutes in the restroom, this short time impacts
the rest of their dining experience. So why does the concept of atmosphere seem to be left outside the
restroom doors of so many restaurants?

***Your guests’ expectations are simple: cleanliness, privacy, and comfort.

So why not pay the same attention to décor here as you do in the dining area, with plants or attractive
wallpaper or artwork, reflecting your theme or mood? Temperature control and lighting are critical here
too; select warm, incandescent lighting or color-corrected fluorescents that are bright without being harsh.
Placement of restrooms in your building usually depends on the location of your water lines, so
they are often near the kitchen. However, guests should never have to walk through the kitchen to use
the restroom. Another pet peeve of some diners is having to wait outside a locked restroom door, in a
narrow hallway or in view of other guests. If at all possible, divide your restroom into a small waiting area
with sink and mirror and at least one stall with a locking door. Most restaurants can’t spare enough space
for restrooms to be lavish, but they should at least be roomy enough that guests don’t feel uncomfortably
cramped.
Local health ordinances may require a specific number of toilets and urinals, depending on your
square footage or total seating capacity. There are also guidelines to ensure your restroom facilities are
accessible to persons with physical disabilities
Luckily, a few cosmetic touches add to the perception of cleanliness in a restroom. The use of
slate or easy-to-clean tile (smaller tiles on the floor, larger ones on the walls) is one option. Stark white is
not a good color for walls because it’s hard to keep clean; conversely, dark colors are not perceived as
clean, even if they are, so it is best to pick a lighter shade. The stall partitions don’t have to be dull gray
metal when there are several sturdy options in attractive, solid colors that discourage scratched-on
graffiti. If money is no object, there are beautiful hand sinks and touch-free fixtures in many styles and
colors.
***Other restroom amenities to consider:
- Exhaust fans should operate whenever the toilets are occupied;
- soft incandescent lighting is preferable to harsh fluorescent lighting.
- Make sure the stall doors properly close and latch. Provide hooks on stall doors, to hang
coats or handbags.
- Install high-quality, undistorted mirrors, including full-length mirrors.
- Provide privacy screens between men’s urinals.
- Provide well-stocked (and working) vending machines for women’s sanitary products
(although other types of vending machines were a turnoff in the May 2004 survey).
- Complimentary mouthwash, hand lotion, or hairspray can sometimes be found in the
restrooms of fine-dining establishments.
- If smoking is allowed, provide ashtrays or cigarette urns to prevent fires in other waste
receptacles.
- In family-oriented eateries, how about having diaper changing tables in restrooms of both
sexes.
- An additional finding from the Restaurant Hospitality study: Don’t scrimp on the toiler paper
quality!
- Finally, assign employees to check the restrooms regularly: to wipe up spills on sinks and
countertops; empty trash cans; and replenish supplies of hand soap, toilet paper, and paper
towels.