We were very excited to have shepherded the Nashville T.G.I. Friday’s new kitchen and bar design concept  earlier this year and equally excited that the design will be debuted in the new T.G.I.F. to be opened December 10 in Syracuse at Destiny USA, the second T.G.I.F. unit in the nation to feature the new designs.

Energy efficient kitchen equipment, an open kitchen so guests can see the chefs cooking and a larger, revamped bar are some key features in the design overhaul. Learn more about it by watching the Syracuse Post-Standard video below.

 

Video below:

 

To learn more about how Synergy can help redesign your kitchen or bar, contact us at 888-861-9212 or at info[at]www.synergyconsultants.com.

Technology has always played a pivotal role in business, including restaurants. These days, it’s not unheard of to order your favorite meal from an iPad or wait for your pager to buzz when your table is ready. Now if you’re seeking  an efficient way to display your menu, you might want to look into digital menus displays.

 

Depending on your restaurant type, digital menus may or may not be a good fit. Let’s take a look into the pros and cons of the digital menu to help you make a better-informed decision.

 

Digital Menus: Should I invest in one for my restaurant?

Pros:

• Easy to read for your guests
• Capacity to display more menu items
• Display clear, enticing, digital photos of your food offerings
• Change daily specials or prices with ease
• Display more than just men items: website, social media sites, nutritional content, video etc.

Cons:

• There may be too much content displayed which could cause information overload for your guests
• May give off too much of a  “modern” feel depending on your restaurant’s theme (e.g. digital menus may not work well with rustic Old Italy interior design)
• Initial start up cost may be outside of your budget

 

Do you have questions regarding digital menu displays? Do you want to make sure you make the best and most cost efficient choice in how you choose to display your menu? Contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants to for an initial consultation.

 

 

No one can deny that truly delicious food is the cornerstone of a great restaurant; but you’ll often recognize the crucial role that ambience plays. Ambience can also be referred to as the “mood” or “atmosphere” that a place emits and if you operate a restaurant, you definitely will want to have yours up to par. Think of the dining experience as a simple math equation: dining experience = food + ambience.

 

Good restaurant ambience is dependent on many factors although we will focus on just one in this article: lighting. You wouldn’t watch a movie at the theater with bright lights overhead, nor would you enjoy bright lighting while eating dinner with your date. The moral of the story? Lighting is a major player is setting the appropriate mood for the type of restaurant and the time of day. There are numerous types of lights and fixtures you can implement in your restaurant. Check out our tips below to learn how to use lights to improve your restaurant’s ambience.

 

Choosing appropriate lighting for your restaurant

 

– Dimmer switches : perfect for adjusting brightness for daytime and nighttime guests.

– Colored light bulbs: add colored light bulbs to match and accent your design scheme.

– Fixtures: look for fixtures that fit your restaurant’s theme and personality. For example, some chandeliers can offer an air of class to a space, while some lanterns may add whimsical flair. From ornate to basic, there are light fixtures to fit every restaurant.

– Light up the menu: Always make sure your menu can be read any time of day, either by shining some LED lights on it or utilizing menu light boxes/LED backlit menus.

– Candles: candlelit dinners are by no means outdated! Candles can bring out a classic romantic setting.

 

There is really no end to the creativity that lighting can bring. Stay tuned for more ambience tips in our upcoming blog posts and check out these great photos below for some inspiration!

 

 

 

 

 

LYFE Kitchen recently debuted this October, showcasing gourmet healthy food and the Synergy Team has been proud to be a part of its
development. But it doesn’t stop at just green, healthful food – one of the main goals at LYFE Kitchen is to promote green living, which can be showcased by its restaurant design.

Our very own interior restaurant designer, Margee Drews, and architects at Keisker & Wiggle, worked to provide a carefully thought-out design which includes the use of recycled materials and reclaimed goods to produce an atmosphere that is comforting  for guests while responsible and sustainable to our environment.

For an in-depth look at the unique restaurant design techniques implemented, read the article from Nation’s Restaurant News that has
featured the deign in an article showcasing the “10 ‘green’ things at LYFE Kitchen”

In a new article appearing in the September 26 issue, Nation’s Restaurant News shares a number of great industry ideas for “10 ways to build business inside your restaurant’s four walls”—all of them “touch points” for the consumer’s dining out experience.

We’d like to add a few ideas of our own.

One: Make an Online Connection

• Be sure to post a current menu online, on both the website and Facebook, including prices
• Investigate a means for taking reservations as well as comments and criticism online
• Put your address and phone number on every page of your website

Two: Dress Up Your Outdoor Décor

• Ensure the safety of arriving guests with such basics as level pavement, minimal steps (if possible) or at least ones that are clearly marked, and adequate lighting so there are no darkened areas or blind spots
• Smooth the transition from indoors outdoors to in. If you operate in a cold climate, for instance, provide a heated “airlock”-type double entrance, or at least a heavy curtain with a clear way through to the dining or indoor entrance area
• If possible, display your menu somewhere that’s accessible and well-it, so passers-by can have a look before they decide

Three: Make Your Greeting Count

• In addition to friendliness and a warm welcome, there are nuts-and-bolts issues that should be addressed in the entryway or lobby as well, such as a place to put down packages or purses while removing coats (not to mention a place or a means to store coats), and/or a bench that’s enough out of traffic for a guest to wait for a car or another guest without having to go to the bar

Four: Tap Your Sales Keg

• Make sure there are nonalcoholic options for those who are not imbibing, for whatever reason. If they’re special enough—flavorful, signature items with appropriate glassware and garnish—you can even charge a premium for them.
• Make sure the bartender acknowledges a waiting guest even if he or she can’t take the order immediately

Five: Get a Rave Review

• Consider such tableside service touches as pouring a sauce onto an entrée, splitting up or providing additional plates for a dessert that customers say they will share, or tossing a salad tableside

Six: Fine Tune Your Food

• Try to respond to guests’ concerns about food allergies or intolerances, portion sizes, substitutions and “custom orders” by establishing clear policies and procedures with employees, and empowering both service and kitchen staff to follow through
• Make sure the menu is easy to read and understand from the point of view of such elements as typeface/size and layout, and the way the categories or organized, as well as table lighting

Seven: Show off Your Chef

• Consider including the name of your chef and other important kitchen personnel, such as the sous chef, on the menu
• Likewise, you may want to include a bio of your chef on the website, or even a blog, recipes and other, more personalized messaging from the kitchen. Chains such as Oceanaire Seafood Room are doing this to great effect

Eight: Rev Up Sales at the Drive-Thru

• At the risk of sounding xenophobic or un-PC, make sure the person taking order speaks clearly and without an accent that may be hard for the customer to understand
• Be cognizant of the fact that cars come in many sizes, from low-to-the-ground sports cars to big SUVs, when determining the height of speakers, window exchange areas, and the like

Nine: Make Guests Feel at Home

• Be aware and take steps to correct issues such as drafts and hot or cold spots, speaker “shadows” and the like
• Lighting, lighting, lighting (appropriate for your target customer, adequate without being too bright, and adapted to the function of the location—e.g., reading the menu at the table, the entrance to the restroom areas)
• On the subject of restrooms, if possible their entrance and layout should afford every possible privacy. They should not open directly into the dining room; if yours is a small restaurant with minimal room for a corridor, at least provide some sort of screen. And designate a staff member to check them regularly for cleanliness, availability of supplies, and so on

Ten: Leave a Lasting Impression

• Presenting loyalty cards, coupons and other materials to departing guests is all well and good, but make sure to do it with subtlety—consider leaving these on the table with the check or place them near the door where customers can grab them, if they want to

For more ideas on how to build your business, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants

When my partners and I are on call for a project, we always come on site to the restaurant to taste the food and assess the location. Aside from evaluating the food, we take careful attention to the ambiance and décor of the restaurant. In short, the design and décor must be appropriately matched to the theme of the restaurant and provide an inviting, enjoyable and not to mention clean atmosphere.

Every so often, I visit a restaurant that is so beautiful that it leaves a mark in my mind even after I leave. Taps Fish House and Brewery in Brea, California did just that. Upon entering the establishment, I immediately felt a warmness—not just from the cordial service but from the dark brown wood furnishings, exposed brick walls, old-fashioned stools and wall fixtures.

 

At Taps, you can experience both classy fine dining on one end at the elegant main room, and casual eating and drinking at the bar on the other. Cigar enthusiast? Light one up at Taps cigar-friendly patio. On a chilly night at Taps, try cozying up to one of four fireplaces to some live music. Taps is a wonderful example of great restaurant design. Our very own consultant at Synergy, Bob Kuchinski, actually designed Taps. Synergy Consultants specializes in high-end designs to fit any restaurant theme — this includes exterior design, interior design and decor as well as efficient commercial kitchens.

As a restaurant owner, how important is it for you to be “green?” Some restaurants go green by using smart packaging, saving water, recycling, and even do in-house composting. Others think big and seek LEED certification for their entire location. But what exactly is LEED? This very trending topic speaks volumes to the green movement because LEED certified restaurant buildings undergo rigorous requirements to achieve this status.

 

LEED is the acronym that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – a project or building that uses environmentally friendly building practices like using recycled materials, sustainable green building material and reducing amount of waste. In short, the LEED certification system aims to encourage building projects that help our environment. There are four levels of LEED standards which are Certified, Gold, Silver and Platinum. We recently took a trip to Platinum LEED certified restaurant, Claire’s on Cedros in Solana Beach. They are without a doubt the standard for LEED certified restaurants. In the building process for Claire’s, careful enviromental strategies were taken place to implement energy and water efficiency.

 

A quick rundown of the just some of features of Claire’s green building:

– Parking: priority spaces are given to eco-friendly cars and carpoolers. – Green roof: their vegetated roofs, “have minimal irrigation needs. During rainstorms they absorb rain reducing the amount of stormwater running off the site.”

– Renewable energy: Claire’s boast 54 photovoltaic panels on site

– Appliances: only Energy Star efficient appliances are used – Interior: nearly all the interior finishes are made from reclaimed or recycled content

– Insulation: Creatively uses blue jeans in the walls and ceilings for insulation.

– Heating: hydronic floor heating is used to heat the commercial space

– And much more!

 

Although it is quite an undertaking to become a LEED certified restaurant, the environmental payoff is huge. Synergy’s expert design team can meet much of the challenge that comes with LEED certification. Our goal has always been not only to design amazing functional restaurants that are warm and comfortable but also design restaurants that are environmentally sound.

 

A tiny restaurant “design” change that will make all the difference!

I hate wobbly tables at restaurants and so do guests.  What you find is managers placing match books and wads of napkins under the tables to stop the tables from wobbling.

When I was at the restaurant show I discovered this product called Table Shox which is a hydraulic  self adjusting table glides.  Every restaurant manager needs to have a few boxes of these in their tool kit.  If you can screw in a light bulb you can install this product.  Why have annoyed guests when the problem can be easily remedied?