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