restaurant development + design is a user-driven resource for restaurant professionals charged with building new locations and remodeling existing units.
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5 6 • R E S T A U R A N T D E V E L O P M E N T + D E S I G N • M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 5 How To diffcult challenges or if they will be- come stubborn. It's all about a feeling — like going on a date." It's critical to have that frst meet- ing face-to-face, Karpinski says, primar- ily to see if there's chemistry between the management team and the designer. "It's important because you're going to be working so closely with them and you are collaborating with them in a lot of ways. We always have a strong vision and want them to help bring it to life." The restaurant group needs to hear the overall scope of the project, the de- signer's ideas, including the budget and the timing, before it hires a designer. Budget can always be a tricky subject, but it's something Karpinski feels strongly about establishing clarity on up front. "A lot of designers want to work off a percentage of the project cost, but that's never worked for me because it really is a disincentive for them to care about the budget," he explains. Instead, he requests a guaranteed maximum price at the start of a project. "We don't try to underpay; we want everyone to make full market value but we want to make sure there is full alignment," he says. Karpinski adds that SRG always hires a brand specialist at the same time it hires a designer. The special- ist comes from a branding frm, and Karpinksi has found if he doesn't make that hire until later in the design pro- cess it's too late. "You miss an oppor- tunity to bring your brand to life. The brand designer can help weave the DNA of this brand into the design." Slim Chickens HQ: Fayetteville, Arkansas 16 units in 5 states Greg Smart met designer Dan Faires by chance through a friend and the timing was perfect. "I was looking to elevate our design standards and have a proper restaurant design," says the co- founder and CMO of fast-casual chain Slim Chickens. Previously, he says, the 10-year-old concept's design had been somewhat neglected while the chain focused on operations. After that initial meeting in 2011, and after considering a couple of other designer candidates, Smart knew he liked Faires' energy, passion and focus. "We were like-minded, thinking of how the design brings value to the guests. I liked his self-starter personality, which is similar to mine," Smart recalls. So he spent some time researching Faires and his work and was impressed with what he saw. "You have to have the same vision, the same goals, and be able to tolerate each other," he adds. Smart's decision to hire Faires was cemented once he'd read through a 50- page portfolio in which the designer de- tailed everything Slim Chickens should work on and tweak. "When I saw that I thought this would be a good ft and we went over money, hours, completion date, the true scope of work," he says. That process took around six months, beginning with the initial meeting, through brainstorming ses- sions about the brand's culture and how to translate that through effective design, to Faires' formal engagement. Essential to the project was prox- imity and Faires lived nearby. Many meetings needed to be face-to-face at that point, Smart says, so the two could read each other's verbal and non-verbal feedback. They could also sit together and look at sketches and really collaborate. Slim Chickens worked with designer Dan Faires to develop its new look. Chemistry and proximity were key factors in his selection. Sage Restaurant Group prefers young, undiscovered design frms for its concepts, such as Urban Farmer Steakhouse in Cleveland.