J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • 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 • 4 9
local community, schools and charity
organizations." On top of that, the chain
aspires to be a place where people can
come together — where neighbors can
get to know each other and bond over
plates of delicious barbecue.
With the goal of being part — and
even a pillar — of the communities it
operates in, 4 Rivers has never taken
a cookie-cutter approach to design.
Instead, many of its restaurants have
been conversions of existing buildings,
structures that are already part of their
neighborhoods, with designs that reflect
those areas. "If we want to say we're
investing in a community," says Monica
Rivers, "we need to make the store
reflective of the community."
The recently opened Atlanta location
is a clear example of this approach. As
the first 4 Rivers restaurant outside of
Florida, it would have been easiest to open
in a strip mall or with a ground-up build.
Instead, the chain took over a 100-year-old
firehouse on the edge of a thriving neigh-
borhood near Georgia Tech University.
Though John and Monica looked
at other locations in the city and its
suburbs, they were drawn to this space
as soon as they saw it. "There's an in-
credible history in this building we didn't
Project Team
Project Lead, Interior Design and
Kitchen Design: Tan Vu, project man-
ager, Interplan LLC
Architect: David Boyce, AOR
Kitchen Supplier: Glenn Eberle,
Contract Equipment Specialist