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The future of restaurants and how designers can support them

This optimism is especially high for fast food and casual dining restaurants, possibly because they benefit from savings made by bulk buying their ingredients, fulfilling higher order volumes at a fast rate and operating with fewer staff. The report details that nearly half of fast food (44%) and casual dining restaurant owners (40%) said they feel much more optimistic compared to last year, followed by café or other (38%), and fine dining (31%) restaurant owners. In spite of this optimism, no restaurant, whether high-end or fast food, can get complacent. There is work to be done, to make this optimism manifest itself into profitability.

Key factors are at play, which can be utilised to help bring this about.

Technology

The primary use of technology should focus on the seamlessness of the dining experience and responding to the diners preferences – whether advanced ordering prior to seating, easy pay-at-table with QR codes, allowing bill-splitting and electronic payment or inviting immediate resolution of issues with the experience. Advanced review of allergens, tolerances and food preferences is becoming more widespread with potential diners foregoing restaurant locations without this clear information. Advanced booking of areas within the restaurant can be accommodated: quieter spaces for neuro-divergent customers, nearer facilities, speedier casual dine-and-go service can all be managed ahead of time.

Expanding from the core offering

Going forward, we are likely to see an increase in uptake at restaurants that are looking to expand their business outside of their core offerings, in order to respond to the growing interests of customers. This can be as varied as providing meal kits of popular dishes, or selling premade meals and even wine subscriptions, if relevant. It is all about understanding who your customer is and what they want. This is particularly pertinent for Gen Z, which is set to become the largest consumer base, and who claim that their interest would be increased by restaurants that offer additional options such as cooking classes and events, or meal kits and the options to order at a kiosk or through a QR code.

Brands need to ensure they understand their core USP to effectively expand their core offer and avoid diluting their core experience. The expanded offer is to provide a ‘memory’ of the experience to generate an enduring authentic engagement and therefore loyalty – not to replace the offer itself. Additionally, the expanded offer needs to retain the commensurate quality of the original experience to add value or offer something complementary – a sushi offer could, for instance, offer a wider insight into the cuisine, its culture and traditions and encourage the making or purchase of dishes or products that are not practical or commercial to offer ‘in-store’ to retain the core offer.

Flexible and Multi-Purpose Spaces

When it comes to restaurant design, the focus needs to be on the creation of adaptable spaces that are flexible enough to be changed easily to support various needs and events. Elements to facilitate this include modular furniture and movable partitions. Having this sort of flexibility enables restaurants to generate additional revenue by renting out the space for private events, which can provide a valuable extra source of income.

Creating a unique dining experience is another advantage of designing multi-purpose spaces as it is through providing a variety of seating options and décor that restaurants can create a customised environment that is relevant to each event, and that optimises the customer experience by catering to their specific requirements.

Multi-purpose spaces are not limited to dining and hospitality events, as revenue can be generated by creating space for art galleries, pop-up shops and even venues for shows and theatrical performances.

Although flexible, blended spaces are more suitable for the pace of fast and casual dining, careful consideration needs to be given to the core of the experience. This form of disruption needs to address whether ‘mindful’ eating is a concern to the whole experience, and the expectation needs to be clear for the customer, to avoid creating an experience that doesn’t fully satisfy the multiple experiences within the space

Creating sensory symmetry

Creating a congruent experience is a skilful combination of all elements of the brand. Ambient temperature, lighting, music choice and even the comfort of the furnishings all form a synergy and the all-important connection with the customer. Sensory theatre can use contrast to amplify a particular experience (thinking Hestons’ dry-ice…) but it needs to be easily read and understood as part of the experience.

Eco-Friendly and sustainable

As customers increasingly make their choices based on ethics, the future of successful restaurant design needs to focus on sustainability.

Governance of ingredients, procurement and quality staffing are all considerations for the inclusive and sustainably aware customer. Seasonal or low-impact natural ingredients have become a focus – and storytelling around this element is key to reassuring the customer and enhancing the experience. Staff, as in retail, are expected to be sensitive and knowledgeable ambassadors for the experience – fully versed on allergies, tolerances and food choices.

Construction and servicing of the physical environment is also increasingly under environmental scrutiny, all through the statutory approval stages via the design process, with constant efficiency of equipment delivering all important saving for the operator.

Utilising Virtual Reality

Though it might still seem far fetched to some, virtual reality technology is making significant strides in revolutionising the entertainment industry and has the potential to be utilised in the food industry as well.  .

There are so many possibilities that can be explored, such as offering augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) technologies to be able to help diners to select a three course meal – complimenting tastes with wine selection etc. based on simple inputs, or to transport them to different environments to enhance their understanding of ingredients and flavours.

There is potential to “blur the lines” between the physical and digital worlds, which can elevating the dining experience to new heights. Regardless of advancements, it is important to bear in mind that technology is 99% a tool for efficiency – not the experience itself.

There are many exciting possibilities to justify the optimism being felt by the restaurant industry. It all boils down to knowing who you are catering for and then creating an environment and a service that is responsible, memorable and ultimately enjoyable.

New breed of hotels & restaurants want to be one of the locals…

Airbnb’s rallying cry, “live like a local,” is now being applied by hospitality brands to both hotel and restaurant chains, with owners happily embracing the idea by developing localised design that has extra Millennial appeal. All this is changing the face of hospitality, not just in the UK but across the globe. Millennials, with their desire for something new and authentic, are demanding a new style of venue that offers homely, comfortable and interesting looks, often with a retro or vintage twist.

It may all be artfully designed, choreographed and perhaps even ‘curated’ but it certainly has the gravitational pull to attract the right audience and keep them coming back for more. The evidence is certainly there for all to see with successful ventures like the Hoxton group expanding each year.

Hoxton now has two hotels in London and one each in Amsterdam and Paris. Actually inspired by a neighbourhood, closely associated with graffiti artist Banksy and the original White Cube Gallery, the Hoxton ‘brand’ majors on the looks and ambience that intellectually, emotionally and physically engages both the laptop and latte hotel guest and locals who come to enjoy the restaurant and bar. Hoxton and other brands like Ace are taking design to a hyper-local level by using themes that closely mesh with the locality of each site.

Firmly in the vanguard of hospitality’s new radical chic they both challenge their designers to create a venue for guests and locals and above all to create something that enriches the neighbourhood itself. Like others in the new hospitality vanguard, the brand realises that it needs to imprint a strong brand on each of its venues and this is done largely through typography and a ‘look’ that is rendered, albeit with a twist, in every venue. LEON has even dedicated a page on its website to its changing faces which beautifully illustrates the point.

In conclusion, by tapping into the ‘zeitgeist’, with good interior design and excellent service, hospitality brands will be able to deliver the  surprise, standout and authenticity that Millennials want, creating a unifying brand that will fit both the times and the audience.

chain reaction takes fast food to a new level

The ‘one look for everywhere’ approach, which traditionally made sense and helped to underscore a brand’s identity has begun to look downmarket rather than consistent, and impersonal rather than recognisable. Consumers expect a more premium experience and the cookie-cutter strategy that dominated the sector is rapidly losing traction. Part of the reason is the artisan ethos pioneered by the smaller players. Brands like Bill’s and Leon – both of which have less than 100 UK sites, tapped into the zeitgeist by borrowing design cues from aspirational domestic interiors and as a result made ambiance the essence of the brand. Fashionable industrial lighting, quality natural materials, quirky buildings, intriguing props and unusual artwork give customers an authentic sense of place.

Big brands are tapping into the trend and are making the expression of their identities far more nuanced. KFC, the epitome of a fast food brand – have also been able to make the strategy work. It’s Bracknell outlet launched a radical new look with brick panels, copper lighting fixtures and handwritten signs. The sense of stylish domestic interior is evident through ‘kitchen tables’ with pendant lighting, which evoke the idea of shared family meals, while the semi-open plan kitchen makes food preparation feel more intimate. The iconic KFC colourways, graphics and visual identity take a back seat and allow the environment to become the brand hero. Burger King has also chosen to move away from full on corporate statement with a new scheme that combines copper, brick, bamboo and reclaimed wood. Branding is subtle with logos embossed into solid wood tabletops. These sorts of environments pick up on the UK consumer’s longstanding love affair with property design and interiors.

We have become less impressed with monolithic faceless corporations and want businesses to demonstrate honesty, authenticity and a more personal service. Branding is now about capturing an ambiance rather than corporate colours and a logo count. The fast food sector is particularly vulnerable to this change in consumer expectation and we can expect to see the trend for more intimate, almost domestic environments to continue in the future.

Nigel Collett – CEO, rpa:group.