Rarely As Simple As It Seems

The Subway restaurant by my house was in the process of renovating an adjacent space into a larger dining room for its eatery. While having lunch there, I overheard the store's owner having a conversation with a customer about the project. The customer was clearly surprised at how much work went into what he thought was a pretty simple project. He didn't realize that plans had to be drawn up, permits needed to be obtained, licensed contractors had to be hired, and so on.

They say things are rarely as simple as they look. This is SO true when is comes to store and restaurant build outs and remodels. Even the smallest details get scrutinized by building review committees before approval is given and the project can begin. New store owners are often unaware of this. Those of us who have been in the industry for a while know it all too well.

Surfing around NYTimes.com this morning, I came across this blog post about the process involved in putting up a sign in front of a restaurant in Southampton, NY. While I'd like to say that Mr. Buschel's experience is the exception, it's actually quite normal.

Cafe vs. Coffee Bar

The more I read up on the coffee market, it seems like more and more coffee shops are doing away with offering free wi-fi or deciding against offering wi-fi all together. It may be that they want their employees to focus more on the art of brewing the perfect cup of coffee instead of providing tech support, but one message rings loud and clear -these coffee shops are not offices.

In addition to doing away with wi-fi, some coffee shops are taking it a step further and getting rid of the plush furniture and tables that have become synonymous with American cafes. In their place, coffee shop proprietors are installing counters and bars in the hopes of inspiring conversation but cutting down on the lingering.

In this article featured on The New York Times' website this morning it's clear to see that moving from cafe to coffee bar has spurred much debate. I, personally, see valid points coming from both sides of the equation, but if the coffee shops highlighted in the article are any indication of a new trend in the industry, we designers and build out companies may have to retool our line of thinking when it comes to creating new coffee joints.

What do you think? Are coffee bars the wave of the future or are cafes here to stay? We'd love to hear where you weigh in on the cafe vs. coffee bar debate.


-- Liz Blohm

Design Lessons from The Gap

Designing with brand longevity in mind is a tricky task. If you're too trendy, you run the risk of becoming irrelevant in a short period of time, but if you're too neutral, you may bore customers right out of the store. The Gap has seen its ups and downs over the years, but one thing has remained constant in its brand lifetime -smartly-designed stores that go the distance.

In this article on EventDesignMag.com, Erin Alley, Gap's Director of Store Design, divulges some of the brand's design secrets. Here are some tidbits worth hanging on to from this designer's tool box:

• Avoid becoming too thematic -unless a certain theme fits your brand. "It's more important to understand -and stay true to- your brand than it is to pay attention to what other retailers are doing."
• Incorporate flexibility into your fixtures to allow for reconfiguration. This will help accommodate changing merchandise as well as different store footprints.
• Durability is hugely important -and don't forget to consider maintenance and the costs associated with it. "White tables are horrendous in terms of upkeep."
• While a store may look finished, "the design process never ends." Reviewing and refining should be constant as the design rolls out.

--Liz Blohm

The Great Cookie-Cutter Debate

In QSR Magazine's "Second Location" feature for August, a design firm exec makes the case that national chains taking a cookie-cutter approach to designing new locations pretty much have the wrong idea. I mean, cookie-cutter -saying it even sounds hum-drum, doesn't it? People want excitement. They want energy. They want to have new experiences. If every one of your locations essentially looks the same, that's going against what the people want. Eventually they'll develop a "been-there-done-that" attitude about your restaurant brand.

Well, that's what he had to say anyway.

While some good points were made, I don't think that a cookie-cutter (or modular or whatever you want to call it) approach to new locations is necessarily the kiss of death that some reading the article might conclude. In fact, I think it has a couple of advantages -some of which are touched on in the QSR piece but really deserve another look.

First there's brand recognition. There's no mistaking a Perkin's Family Restaurant. That green sign, those striped awnings. The lighter wood-toned furniture and casework and the abstract-patterned fabrics. Driving past and walking in, there's no doubt what it is. It makes it easy for people who seek out their home-style fare to find it.

Second is the control you keep over build out budgets and timelines. This can be incredibly important for franchise brands whose build out costs are laid out in their Franchise Disclosure Documents. You can cut out some of the necessary design time required for the space. You can also use the same vendors from project to project, which helps keep costs consistent. Plus, incorporating similar components into each of your stores not only helps you dial in the process to gain efficiency, but it may also give you the opportunity to take advantage of any volume discounts your suppliers offer because you're able to make more than one store order at a time.

Lastly, while we may be people that seek new experiences, I'd also argue that we are a group that seeks comfort and assurance as well. Tying it back to the brand recognition point, if people enjoy your food and the experience, they'll come back and they'll be likely to seek out your brand when away from home too.

A little design variation from space to space isn't terrible. It may even be required due to space restrictions or landlord requests. However, I'd caution against changing up too many things because the easier it is for your fans to find you, the better.

The Dadson Diaries would love to hear how you weigh in on the great cookie-cutter debate. Share your thoughts here!


--Liz Blohm

Made There? Can't Come Here.

When F.C. Dadson first started out, we worked with companies based in the Midwest. Each project presented a few surprises, but nothing too big. As our customers started to grow nationally, we went right along with them. We learned a few more things along the way, but, again, nothing too major. Then our customers explored Canada and The Caribbean and we had to learn a lot about how to get our products into different countries -things like passing border inspections, charging and paying the right taxes and fees, and transporting goods across water to name a few.

As our customers expand even further from home base, we're learning new things every day. The lessons are often quite mundane and involve policies and regulations, but every once in a while, we learn something that catches us by surprise. Yesterday was one of those days.

On of our project teams is currently researching regulations and restrictions we'll be subject to as we build out a new international location for a client. It's the first build out we'll be doing in this country, so there's been a lot to go through, and yesterday they discovered that the country had strict rules about what countries products could and couldn't come from.

Working primarily in within the United States' borders, we often take "Country of Origin" for granted when specifying materials and buy-out items for our clients. With only a few exceptions, we are a country that accepts products from most other countries. So we've been free to find the best fitting products at the best prices. Moving forward, that may not always be the case.

That "Made in" or "Product of" label is such a small part of a product, but it is growing in importance as clients continue to take their concepts across the world.

--Troy Schwehr (Connect with me on LinkedIn.)

ADA's Affect on Common Retail Fixtures

Having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, the American with Disabilities Act is receiving a lot of press coverage lately. Reading all these articles brings to mind a piece that F.C. Dadson's Troy Schwehr wrote a while ago about how ADA guidelines affect event the smallest details in store design.

To keep the ADA celebration going, here's an except from that article. The entire article can be found here.

Measuring Accessibility
Designing accessible stores is heavily based on measurements. The United States Access Board, the federal agency that oversees the list of design standards, has assigned appropriate heights, widths, amounts, etc. -when applicable- to everything from toilets to door handles. While not as obvious a candidate for ADA intervention as bathrooms or entrances, store fixtures also have their own requirements. Let's take a look at two common types of retail fixtures: counters and displays.

Counters
ADA guidelines for counters depend primarily on what the counters are used for. For example, counters with cash registers require that at least a 36 inch long section of the counter measure no higher than 36 inches from the finished floor. Service or reception counters, on the other hand, may have either a portion similar to the cash counter or show reasonable accommodation through something like a drop-down shelf for customers in wheelchairs to complete written transactions or an open area alongside the counter where customers may be helped. Food serving counters have still different guidelines. Despite these differences there are three key things to remember that apply to all counters: 1) they must be on an accessible route - an aisle that is at least 36 inches wide, 2) the accessible route must provide access to the accessible entrance and other areas where merchandise and service are provided, and 3) all counters need to have an area of clear space, at least 30 inches by 48 inches, directly in front of the counter to allow customers in wheelchairs to pull up.

Displays
Guidelines for merchandising displays aren't quite as stringent as those for counters. Not all merchandise has to be within the reach range of a customer in a wheelchair as long as sales associates are available to help retrieve items. However, permanent display fixtures must be located on accessible routes with additional space at corners for maneuvering, though it doesn't hurt sales to make all floor fixtures, permanent and temporary, accessible is space allows.

Lottery Art

With F.C. Dadson's president officially on vacation for the rest of the week, The Dadson Diaries decided it would only be appropriate to offer ourselves and our readers a little respite as well in the form of an article on FastCompany.com that shows us all that there's beauty to be found in the dashed dreams of loser lottery tickets.

Take a couple minutes to enjoy...and then get back to work. :)

Converting Spaces, Saving Places

National chains have long been seen as the arch-nemesis of "mom-and-pop" businesses. Could they now be a struggling local business's saving grace? It appears so as this article on Entrepreneur.com points out.

Conversion franchising, or taking an existing business and converting it to a franchise brand, gained momentum during the downturn. Many sought it as a way to keep their businesses open and bring more customers through the doors. While no longer an independent entity, these new franchisees typically maintain ownership of their property (should they already own them) and pay less in franchising fees and royalties than a new start-up location would. These franchisees are finding additional benefits like access to state-of-the-art equipment and operating systems that they wouldn't have had access to before. They are also benefiting from the recognition the national brand has built.

Part of the reason franchisors are comfortable with offering lower fees is that converting an existing store is often cheaper than a new store build out. F.C. Dadson is in the process of helping a client's franchisees convert stores and the total package price is a fraction of what a new store would cost. While a few new fixtures are being brought in, they are incorporating the sites' existing displays and counters into their design. Apart from these few fixture pieces and new signage and graphics, there isn't much else besides possibly painting the walls to better match the brand's color scheme and updating the point-of-sale system.

Admittedly, conversion build outs aren't always this simple as there may be new equipment or a more extensive decor package that needs to be introduced to the space. Still, franchisees are finding the remodeling hassles worth it to gain the support of a national brand. And franchisors are enjoying it too as it's a way to quickly grow their presence within new and existing markets.


--Liz Blohm