Although every cafe, bar or restaurant design project is unique most people have similar initial questions when they first get in touch with us.

Why should I engage a professional designer for my restaurant, bar or cafe?

What are design fees and how much?

How long will my restaurant or cafe take to build?

How much will my restaurant, cafe or bar cost?

Can I use my own builder, joiner or other existing suppliers?

Do you have your own contractors and suppliers

Will I have to close my cafe, bar or restaurant during refurbishment?

What planning consents will I require for my cafe, bar or restaurant?

Why should I engage a professional designer for my restaurant, bar or cafe?
A professional designer will know how to design so that your restaurant, bar or cafe will best appeal to your customers and meet your business objectives. Restaurants, bars and cafes are known to be amongst the most technically-difficult interiors to design as well as one of the most risky categories of business start-up.
An experienced designer will understand the technicalities but will also have worked with many other restaurant, bar and cafe owners. Consequently, they will know many things you have yet to learn and will have first hand experience of many of the common pitfalls. They should tell you honestly if they think your own ideas will work and if they have reservations or doubts they should not be afraid to tell you and explain why and to come up with new positive suggestions.

A professional designer will help you develop and build a strong, marketable brand with clear, focused objectives. They will work with you over the whole life of your business.

What are design fees and how much?

All professional designers charge design fees.
We can’t speak for others but the main source of income for us is directly from our creative consultant work directly from our clients. We charge design fees and also share our trade discounts with our clients so its always a win win for all parties involved. Most of the time we deal with the design and the contractors deal direct with the client for the build . (Although when asked we do also offer the full turnkey design and build solutions). We choose to work this way so that our advice is impartial and intended solely to meet your business objectives. So often clients are offered cheap or free design by contractors only so they can guarantee they get the build contract. This we find is a dis service as most of the time the contractors are purely thinking of profit and how they can do your project as cheap as possible, rather than what is best for the project or your busienss. If you are offered a cheap or free design I suggest you ask the designer to confirm that they are earning income only from you.

Design fees vary widely according to the size of the project, depth of involvement and experience of the designer. Typically, they will be between 10 and 20% of the cost of building your restaurant, bar or cafe. This is a small proportion of the cost in return for which you should receive:

• A beautiful restaurant, bar or cafe that is fit for purpose and appeals to your customers
• Someone to encourage you and guide you through your project from beginning to end
• Compliance with all government obligations such as building codes and regulations
• More time to work on running your business
• The benefit of the designer’s professional indemnity insurance in case things go wrong

Initial professional design fees may include, strategy, branding, interior design, shopfront and signage design.

How long will my restaurant or cafe take to build?
The shortest time for a minor project (up to 250k) is generally around 16 weeks from starting design work to commencing trading but this depends on the availability of contractors and is best avoided since working so fast can add to costs. However for larger projects we generally suggest allowing time for a 26 week program which can be followed comfortably for the interior design and building of most projects. We need to allow time to establish the brief, site survey, conceptualise your vision, develop the design based on feedback, prepare technical drawings and specifications, submit planning applications, value engineering and the tender process. All of these stages each take weeks to deliver and you must also allow for client feedback time too. We generally allow 1 week for client review time as any longer will hold up the program substantially. Other considerations for such projects are contractor tender times, supplier lead times Aden of course the time for construction which could take anything from 6-8 weeks depending on the size of the project.

Larger projects costing over £500,000 usually take 9 months to a year or more to complete.
If my team and I are managing a complete refurbishment we will act as quickly as we can. In the UK the slowest parts of the process are usually obtaining planning consent and building regulations approval from your council and obtaining tenders and quotations from builders and other suppliers.

This Interiors and branding phases should run hand in hand to ensure the design is consistent and coherent and that it’s all speaking the same language. When we run our projects we consider the full look and feel of both the brand and the interiors early on as part of our familiarisation and strategy – look and feel phases.

How much will my restaurant or cafe cost?
Refurbishing a cafe, bar or restaurant is never cheap. Restaurants and night clubs in particular can require very large investments. This is partly because of the need to keep up with your competition and partly to comply with all the rules and regulations that are getting more stringent every year. Also most good building and shop fitting firms are very busy and their prices reflect this. If you can find a builder who can act quickly and seems cheap then it is likely that they are not very good. Most good builders are booked well ahead.
It is impossible to say exactly how much your project will cost without preparing a design and having it properly priced. The only way to obtain an approximation is to find out what other similar, recent projects have cost. You may have been given a rough price or estimate. I advise you to be cautious of this unless it is based on project-specific drawings and has been prepared by an expert Quantity Surveyor.
We are often contacted by people who have engaged builders on flimsy agreements only to find that the price agreed did not cover even half of the work eventually needed.

Your costs  and overheads

Before you even start with the design process a thorough business plan should be considered. This will help you establish your start up costs and of course all your ongoing overheads.

Although not directly associated with design and fit out costs, the overheads  do have a large impact on your total budget. 

Consider you rent, rates and services and how they may change with the design and build of the project. Existing restaurants may have little change, however new builds and full refurbishments may require the  installation of additional equipment which will almost certainly impact your overheads.

Although ,location Is super important with regards to foot traffic, it also in most cases means higher rents and rates. Ensure you consider this in terms of affordability before signing any lease. 

Almost always, your largest overhead is staff. Staffing costs will also be dependent on the type of service you offer.  Fast food offer will be significantly cheaper to operate than a fine dining restaurant .

Professional Services you may require

As the lead interior designer on you project we often are expected to work with a number of professionals to enable us to fully execute your project. This this varies depending on the specific requirements of each project.

Planning Consultants

Support with any planning applications,  regulations and permissions

Architect

Any Building structural related design works. On larger projects there is often already an architect appointed on the job.  

Quantity surveyor

Quantifies all materials required for the project and their associated costs and times.

General contractor

Responsible for all the general build 

Structural engineer

To consider any structural changes and heavy loads in the building.

HVAC

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning and fresh air flow too!

Lighting Designers

Although we consider all the light fittings and  produce lighting designs to follow the interiors lighting designers ensure everything is considered to the lux levels, ambience settings throughout the day/ night and help select the lamps specific to the look and feel your trying to achieve.

Project manager

To help ensure the project is run smoothly, on time and on budget.

 Fire Safety Consultant (Risk Accessor)

To ensure all the drawings / interiors comply with building regulations and ensure all fire doors, escape routes, exits, sprinkler and smoke alarm systems are fully considered.

Electrical and Services

Although we can identify all your small power, sockets, switches and dimmers, drainage, and water supply. In some cases a fully drawing up electrical and services plan is required. Electrical works must be signed off by a certified electrician as with any changed services by building regs. Its worth having them on the project from the outset. You may also need to deal with the local electrical board to ensure you have sufficient power supply to the premises for the loadings required for a commercial kitchen.

IT, Audio and Data.  

Everything from your internet / data and EPOS system to intergrade sound systems will depend on your final design and requirements of the project. This all needs to be considered prior to appointing a contractor to ensure everything is installed and wired before ceilings and walls go in.

Feature Elements

Such elements as New shopfronts, signage, menu boxes, awnings, windows and even new roofing can add up and become very expensive.  These are your first impressions to your clients and must have the right impact. Don’t wait till the end of the project to decide on these elements. They are not cheap, but they pay off!

Kitchen Bar Equipment Suppliers

We assume you already know the style of restaurant you want and the food you will be serving. This will allow you to make considered decisions on all the equipment you need for both the bar, kitchen and even waiter / service stations. We always suggest working with the head to ensure you are integrating the right equipment fir their needs. This equipment is very expensive and takes up a chunk of the budget, however in many cases our clients also lease all the equipment which is easier from the outset and also benefits from the regular servicing offered. Its also worth the kitchen suppliers working closely wioth the HVAC team to ensure all considered, air con and extraction is considered when defining their location and placement

Joiner for Bespoke Fittings

More often than not when creating a restaurant we design bespoke joinery such as the bar, feature walls, banquette seating,  shelving nd waiter stations. Bespoke jounery is more expensive than anything off the shelf but its fit for purpose and makes the most of all available space you have. The choice of martials used will determine the costs. However you shouldn’t let this discourage you from going bespoke. If we specify soldi wood, but the project comes in more than expected, we can always value engineer the materials down to veneers, and laminates if need be while still keeping the same look and feel and benefiting from having bespoke joinery. You mist plan this joinery into the schedule carefully  as they have longer lead times than anything off the shelf.

FF&E (Furniture, fixtures and equipment)

This refers to the movable or fixed furniture that doesn’t have a permanent fixture to the restuarnat / bar or café.. FF&E solutions enhancing the appeal of an interior but can also range hugely in cost. This however is the finishing touches to your project, has the most impact  and also often what makes the customer feel welcome and comfortable. The choices made with regards to flooring, wall coverings, artwork, tables and seating are what helps create the atmosphere your after. Being open with the designer at the oputset helps establish budgets for such items and allows the designer to specifiy accordingly while also creating the inviting, on brand space that your customers want to visit and return visiting to.

Contingency

Most contractors allow for a contingency of around 10%. This is to allow for anything unforeseen that pops up along the way and still keep the project in budget.

We also suggest to our clients that they do the same.so you don’t have to make any compromises on the design choices that come up along the way.

OK, but what are some rough costs?
Bearing in mind what we have mentioned above, here are some very rough example costs for complete refurbishments based on UK prices.

• A small cafe or wine bar of 20-50 covers started from scratch with new equipment will often cost about £75,000 to £150,000.
• A small restaurant of 50-70 covers, requiring an internal refurbishment but with an existing kitchen will often cost between £150,000 and £750,000.
• A medium-sized restaurant of 70-150 covers and a new rear building extension for kitchens or toilets usually costs at least £300,000 but can easily cost more than £1M.
• A large bar with a restaurant and function area for 300 users will often cost between
£500,000 and £2.5M.
• Work in big city centres such as London often costs more than work in the provinces because of higher labour costs, difficult site access, parking and other restrictions.
• Fitting out work in malls and other new developments often requires starting from scratch and working to high standards, especially in the Middle East. . We find that this is generally much more than most novice clients expect, but that it accords with our own experience. Regional prices vary due to different labour and material rates, but many fixtures and fittings are proprietary and so cost much the same all over the world.

No one project or client is the same . of course the project can be cheaper and also more expensive. It all depends on the client, their expectations and budgets they are prepared to invest.

Can I use my own builder, joiner or other existing suppliers?
Absolutely. We will work with contractors and suppliers who are experienced, professional and capable of implementing our designs properly. You may know such people or firms or you may prefer us to make suggestions and recommendations from companies our other clients have used successfully. We will be pleased to work with you in either event. We’ll may well refuse to work with unqualified people or anyone whose normal work is not refurbishing cafes, bars or restaurants or up to the standard we expect for our clients.

Do you have your own contractors and suppliers?
Over the years we have forged wonderful relationships with contractors, manufacturers, joineres and suppliers. however we are happy for you to suggest and recommend builders and other suppliers we may not know, if you wish. We do not add any hidden mark-ups or make any secret profits from this. We get trade discounts where we can and we split them with our clients. This is a win win for all parties. You end up getting your items cheaper than retail and our time is also covered for the sourcing, specifications, and time it takes to procure these. We feel this is fair and so do all our clients.

Will I have to close my cafe, bar or restaurant during refurbishment?
It is almost impossible to safely and efficiently refurbish a trading cafe, bar or restaurant without closing, unless it is large enough so that the work can be phased. Even then the disruption to trade is so significant that it is often better to close temporarily and get the work over and done with sooner rather than later. You can then have an exciting re opening event when the work is finished and often this will more than make up for the lost business.
We aim to plan all building works so that as much as possible is done off site beforehand and the closed time is minimized.

What planning consents will I require for my cafe, bar or restaurant?

This again is a big topic and possibly one for another blog post, however we will try answer briefly below.

If you have a restaurant, pub or bar or takeaway you will require a premises with A3, A4 or A5 use classification. Some sandwich bars can be operated in premises with A1 use classification, usually when there is no primary food preparation or cooking on the premises but this is not always clear in the planning policies so we advise you to check with your local council’s planning department.
Normally, consent is easily obtained to convert an A5, A4, A3 or A2 premises to A1, but it is much more difficult to convert an A1 or A2 premises to A3, A4 or A5 or an A1 premises to A2, especially if it is larger than 150 sqm. A planning consultant can check the council policies in your area for you.
In addition, you’ll require planning permission for almost all external alterations to your premises including the installation of new shopfronts, building extensions, fume extraction, air-handing and plant, ductwork and signage.

We often are happy to introduce you to expert town planning consultants who advise you as the client and us as the designers and who can run appeals in the event of refusal.

In most countries you will require building control regulations approval (or the local equivalent) for many alterations. In the UK if your property is a listed building you will require listed buildings consent.
It is a criminal offence punishable with large fines or even imprisonment not to comply with the CDM 2015 (Construction Design and Management) Regulations.
In many countries if you are going to serve alcohol you will require a liquor license.
If you are planning to have live performances or play music you may also require a public entertainments license.

A set of good drawings often proves invaluable in obtaining consent quickly and inexpensively.
If you are a tenant you will require the consent of your landlord before you alter the premises.

Your solicitor will deal with this and we can provide them with any drawings they require; again good drawings will speed the process.
It is helpful to obtain a full structure and condition survey of any buildings you
are planning to convert to a cafe, bar or restaurant.
It is often advisable to have soil contamination, electrical, plumbing and drainage surveys – especially if the building is old. These can help us specify appropriate remedial works and protect you from unplanned delays and the costs of any damage caused by your builders.

If your project requires structural building alterations or inspections you will require a Structural Engineer.

If your project is large or complicated you may require a professional Mechanical and Electrical (M and E) consultant. This consultant will deal with all of the service installations, including heating, air handling, lighting, and fire services.

When you market the project you may require a public relations consultant, marketing materials, advertising a web site and social media prescence. We can provide you with all of these services as part of our design services.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our notes
And remember, if you want a professional job, get a professional to do it : )

Good design makes good business sense. If you know you want to create a bar / restaurant / cafe then appoint a designer sooner than later, not just once you have signed the lease. It’s better to move into a space with a concept or idea of what you’re trying to achieve and use the rent free period to implement the vision rather than to start designing when you should be implementing. 

Common stages of our design service:
Familiarisation and strategy
Concept design
Design development
Detailed design and tender packages
Tender and value engineering
Implementation

These do take time, but save you more money and time in the long run if considered at the outset of the project.

Contact us at Nugget Design if you feel we are the right professional design agency for you and your next project.

Article by Ari Phillips and Nigel Witham

The post FAQ’s about Hospitality Design. appeared first on Nugget Design.

Good Design is Good Business! A successful design is far more than just a new plans, elevation and sketches and undeniably is the most important contributor to success. Design can make or break a venue, and here are some top pointers that will help you when considering your next project.

1. Have clear business objectives
If you don’t know what you want to achieve no one in your team is going to work it out for you. You need a clear business plan with stated objectives. As a minimum it should include financial projections, competitor analysis, menus, staff organisation and marketing strategy. It should be well researched. And the business objective can’t just to be ‘to make me lots of money’, even though that might be what you want! These days some design firms can even support you when putting together a business plan. It’s a good option if you’re an inexperienced start-up

2. Know your story and create an experience

You’ll have to communicate what you’re about to your customers. This is the foundation of building a brand and it means doing much more than slapping on a cheap logo. It means telling a story. Work out what your story is, what you stand for and why it is different and appealing, why you are remarkable.

Your Product must speak – and taste- for itself
A great product immediately fuels word of mouth and these days encourages online and social media recommendations. The better the product, the more chance of positive reviews, recommendations and sharing between customers both new and existing.

Although having a quality product is essential for you to build and grow your brand ,business and gain a positive reputation and word of mouth, it is most defiantly not the only key factor in having a successful restaurant or bar. In fact, one of the main reasons behind losing customers is not usually down to the quality of the product or even its price, but a poor experience with poor customer service… which brings us onto the next key ingredient.

3. Get the name right
Choosing the right name for a new business is a critical. There are consultants who specialise in name selection. Consider carefully whether you should find one of them. It takes time and science, as well as intuition, to get names right and you may need to step away to get the right answer. At the very least, read up on the subject. If you want your first outlet to expand into a chain you’re going to need intellectual property rights. You need to check no one else has legally protected your chosen name already. This can take months.

4. Hire a business minded designer
As Good Design is Good Business its worth considering a professional designer for the job. A professional, experienced, business-minded senior designer (as opposed to a junior designer or contractor) will understand your business objectives and how to create a remarkable new design that achieves them. Some can help with name selection, branding and graphic design as well as all the architectural elements so that everything is properly coordinated and you only have one person / company to deal with.

5. Get the brief right

Briefing a designer is a skill. In order for us to effectively define and create a design (brand, interiors or shopfront) for your project we need to immerse ourselves into the business and understand its: mission, vision, target markets, culture, competitive edge, strengths and weaknesses, marketing strategies, aim, challenges and aspirations for the future. This usually includes workshops, interviewing key stakeholders and potential customers and team to understand the beliefs, feelings and the perceptions. We look at new and old research, statistics, prepare audits and review current customer experiences of destinations you aspire to.  It is important for us to understand the existing market and competition ( and, more importantly learn more about your likes and dislikes. 

At the outset of any project we usually ask clients to complete an ‘establishing the brief’ questionnaire to ensure both client and designers are well informed.  

We understand you will have loads of ideas and huge amount of experience and for us to interpret this correctly we need to extract as much information from you as possible during the familiarisation and strategy phase. The more we know at an early stage, the more direction we have and the less chance of costly revisions in the future.

You should discuss with your designer what information they need from you and what they will obtain themselves. If you want to invest in technology get all the details together in advance. Give your designer the information they want from you up front or you’ll delay your own project. Gathering this information takes time so book it into your diary.

Make sure that the designer has negotiated with you for their creative freedom. Remember they are the designer, not you. You both need to know the boundaries to avoid mistakes that may well compromise your design. A good designer will listen to your likes, dislikes and request but also put suggestions forward based on best practice. It’s easy to get carried away in the excitement and make bad choices. If you start to think you know best about design, please think again. Most clients tend to only knew how to copy the last big thing, instead of how to design the next big thing. Consequently, they were always a step behind the market when they need to be a step ahead. They thought their business was about them, when instead it was about their customers.

6. Find the right premises for the design and objectives
Too often we get called by potential clients informing us they have just signed the lease for their new premises and need a design asap in order for them to make the most of their rent free period for if it out! Good design takes time and one of the biggest misunderstandings about design is, that you fit it to the premises. Many businesses are in the wrong size building or in the wrong location. Your designer should do up a prototype design based on a model building to work out how much space your business requires to achieve its objectives. The designer should then help you choose premises that work with the design. Unless you are expanding a chain and you know what your business needs, never choose the premises before proving the design on paper. Location is less vital than you think. A bad design won’t work in any location but a remarkable design will make up for a bad location

Location, Location, Location. This may be in terms of convenience, accessibility, the type of neighbourhood, being the first on your street, the view….

It may be being on a busy high street and finding a unique welcoming space to escape to. Or it may be the harmony or contrast between your bar/restaurant and its surroundings. The location and the nature of the property you take on can do part of the work for you in creating atmosphere and leading your design- you may have stumbled across a location that just seems to inherently have charm and the rest of the project flows from this.

However finding the perfect space is not always possible and there are often trade offs. Setting up your business in a high foot traffic area will encourage passing trade, however it can demand higher rent rates. And some argue that if you have an amazing offer, the location won’t matter because people will still come. However, promoting your offer and getting the visibility may be more costly. 

Design can play an important part of the equation in terms of your location. Elements from the surrounding area can inform the design, provide inspiration and be referenced as subtly or as boldly as you wish. But most importantly, considered design helps you discover the potential of your location, get the most from your investment whatever size or state the space is in that you are working with.   

7. Give the designer enough time
As mentioned above good design takes time and It takes several months to design something properly. Clients often start out the king that design is just a sketch, some materials and a colour palette but its far more involved that that. A good designer will consider everything for you from the initial concept right the way through to final implementation. This involves, initial familiarisation and strategy, concept design, design development, detailed design, tender (which can take weeks alone) and implementation support. And each phase can take weeks of work. And this doesn’t even take into consideration the lead times for ordering fixtures and fittings, flooring, furniture and lighting etc. Oh and also client review time between each stage which I almost always forgotten. Its not usual that most clients can give immediate feedback so its crucial to allow time for this, revisions, and even waiting for supplier samples too.

If you have to do it faster you’re taking a huge gamble. Ignore what you think you see on TV makeover shows. Good design is not like that.

8 Accept the true costs of implementation
If you don’t have the money to build the design right the first time then what makes you think you’ll have the money to build it again? You buy Cheap, you Buy Twice. Hire a quantity surveyor to price the design and if you can’t afford it, wait until you can or accept your business plan is not viable. Its a awful shame to see people ruin their finances by starting projects they couldn’t afford to finish. Paying for good advice on implementation costs may be the best investment you ever make. There may be costs for having a designer on board but it far outweighs the expensive mistakes you can make too. I can also guarantee you will save the fees you pay the designers just on the savings you will make on the good design solutions and having access to all the trade discounts and deals too!

9 Accept the lead times and how long it will take to construct
It’s going to take time to build. If you force the timescale you’ll compromise the design and end up losing time and spending more money putting it right. If you haven’t built anything similar before, ask those that have and listen carefully when they tell you how long it takes. Resist landlords that put you under pressure with short rent-free periods or be prepared to pay the rent until your outlet is ready, it’s much cheaper in the long term. Best to get it right the first time!

Your brand is more than just a logo – it encompasses everything from the first impression online (website, social media), in person (shopfront and signage) to the way people are greeted on arrival, the menu, the offer and of course the taste of the food / drinks.

10 Never, ever have a launch event
Don’t expose your business when you are still learning and vulnerable. Wait until it’s up and running first, then have as big a party as you want. You probably won’t need it by then but you’ll certainly deserve it.

out is crucial. Positions of elements such as the bar, kitchen, tables, down to tills and waiter stations all affect circulation. How the products travel from the kitchen, or bar, to the customer is one of the most important elements. So it is also important to consider how many members of operational staff will serve the space when designing the layout. This connects to another key aspect that came up in our conversations: service.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our top tips
And remember, if you want a professional job, get a professional to do it : )

Good design makes good business sense. If you know you want to create a bar / restaurant / cafe then appoint a designer sooner than later, not just once you have signed the lease. It’s better to move into a space with a concept or idea of what you’re trying to achieve and use the rent free period to implement the vision rather than to start designing when you should be implementing. 

Common stages of our design service:
Familiarisation and strategy
Concept design
Design development
Detailed design and tender packages
Tender and value engineering
Implementation

These do take time, but save you more money and time in the long run if considered at the outset of the project.

Contact us at Nugget Design if you feel we are the right professional design agency for you and your next project.

Article by Ari Phillips and Nigel Witham

The post Top 10 Steps to a Great Restaurant & Bar Design. appeared first on Nugget Design.

A new identity for local restaurant The Thyme.

Occasionally we work on a project that doesn’t quite make it to the final stage of implementation. But of course, the arrival of Coronavirus has meant all kinds of changes for businesses this year.

With local Italian restaurant, The Thyme, we had developed updated concepts for their logo. However with lockdown, and subsequent restrictions across the hospitality sector, the owners decided to re establish as ‘Ginger & Spices’, an Indian restaurant providing a takeaway service, drawing on the success of their already popular Indian restaurant in Bromley, Madhuwan. It is always great to support local businesses and well worth checking them out.

Here we take a moment to look back at their pre Covid journey with us, which illustrates some simple ways you can get more from your business – and what to avoid.  

The Thyme had a lovely offer, great food and service, but unfortunately, their brand and shopfront did not align with their product. 

What do we mean?

First and foremost for a restaurant to be successful the service and product must be excellent.  This goes without saying. However, you need to align your brand, signage, interior and exterior and message to match. You need consistency throughout. Your curb appeal must be strong enough to capture your audience’s attention and draw them in to want to find out more, check out your menu, to walk-in and make a reservation. And if your shopfront, signage or brand is not doing this you are missing out on a massive opportunity.

Unfortunately, The Thyme’s visual identity was giving mixed messages. They knew they wanted to boost their profile but were unsure where to make the greatest impact… and when they came to us they had just invested in a leaflet marketing campaign and pop up banners, sold to them as a quick way to target new diners.

This is a common route for many businesses; it can seem a logical first step. However their visual identity was already scattered and this only spread it thinner.

They had a minimum of four different logotypes appearing across social media, menus, signage and shopfront…all totally different or a variation on a theme which shows lack of consistency. 

Focusing on the advertising campaign meant they not only spent a significant part of their budget on marketing with poor graphics, but also lost out as there was little to drive new custom – the discounted offers really only brought back their regular customers when in theory they were hoping to engage new customers.  

We would say this probably did more harm than good and risked cheapening their offer. The new materials looked more in keeping with a diner than the restaurant they had inside which was always a pleasant surprise in comparison (below)

Although the interiors lacked a bit of depth, light layering, texture and personality it was at completely different ends of the spectrum from the exterior and the identity just didn’t do it justice.

Although having a quality product is essential for you to build and grow your business and gain a positive reputation and word of mouth, it is not the only key factor in having a successful restaurant or bar. In fact, a simple reason behind not engaging the customers to start is by not giving the right impression from the outset.

Our Approach

Here are a couple of examples of how a better shopfront, signage, clean and tidy branding can make all the difference to your appearance.

We started with the restaurant logo, creating initial concepts, all based on a fresher, simple identity. 

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Then to show how the new identity could be implemented we presented how this would work with a new shopfront. Creating a whole concept could help ensure that any future changes would follow a consistent direction.

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Obviously with the changed circumstances we all find ourselves in then this concept has remained on the page and is just a bit of fun to present what a much larger investment would actually do to the High Street. 

If you’re local, visit Ginger & Spices and give them a try. And if you enjoy it, spread the word so they can keep their new restaurant venture growing – who knows what the future will bring.

Next steps

We hope you liked our initial thoughts and can see how it would have an impact on the High Street. Before you decide which steps to take to promote your business don’t be shy to enquire and do your research first to make sure you invest your hard earned savings wisely.

Good design makes good business sense. If you know you want to refurbish or even create a bar / restaurant / cafe then speak with or appoint a designer sooner than later, not just once you have signed the lease or agreed on the loan. You won’t regret it.

Common stages of our design service:
Familiarisation and strategy
Concept design
Design development
Detailed design and tender packages
Tender and value engineering
Implementation

These do take time, but save you more money and time in the long run if considered at the outset of the project.

Contact us at Nugget Design if you feel we are the right professional design agency for you and your next project.

Want to see our latest bar and restaurant project? Did you know we were responsible for the complete design of  Bank House bar and Kitchen for Stuart Gillies – Ex CEO of the Gordon Ramsay Group? Want to see what we can do? Check it out here and let us know what you think

The post A Thyme for Change appeared first on Nugget Design.

The findings from our exhibit at the Restaurant and Bar Design Show, ExCeL London. Thanks to everyone who took part.

Design

“Brand” “Story” “First impression” “Inviting” “Attention to detail” “Colours” “Quality materials” “Comfort” “Layout” “Bathroom”…..who hasn’t judged a place by its toilets : )

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most mentioned of the ‘key ingredients’ was the look or design.
The design helps to ensure a space will be fit for its purpose. It is a conversation between aesthetics and functionality.

It starts with your brand. This is what makes you recognizable, gets the attention of your potential customers and their trust. Establishing the brand for your restaurant/bar brings together the set of ideas underlying your business. Good branding makes you consistent, impactful and immediately communicates to customers your values and what you have to offer.

Your brand is more than just a logo – it encompasses everything from the first impression online (website, social media), in person (shopfront and signage) to the way people are greeted on arrival, the menu, the offer and of course the taste of the food / drinks.

So what does design involve?
A designer will help you build your brand identity and then translate it into the fundamental elements that characterize your space.  
For a typical project the design process will include producing strategy, concepts, plans and drawings, mood boards and sketches alongside full technical drawings to show the look, function and methodologies that can be achieved and that create your customer’s experience.

For any space, but particularly for bars and restaurants, layout is crucial. Positions of elements such as the bar, kitchen, tables, down to tills and waiter stations all affect circulation. How the products travel from the kitchen, or bar, to the customer is one of the most important elements. So it is also important to consider how many members of operational staff will serve the space when designing the layout. This connects to another key aspect that came up in our conversations: service.

Product

“Quality” “Variety” “New flavours” “Fresh” “Local” plus ‘Lots of gin”…

Now this must speak – and taste- for itself.
A great product immediately fuels word of mouth and these days encourages online and social media recommendations. The better the product, the more chance of positive reviews, recommendations and sharing between customers both new and existing.

Although having a quality product is essential for you to build and grow your business and gain a positive reputation and word of mouth, it is most defiantly not the only key factor in having a successful restaurant or bar. In fact, one of the main reasons behind losing customers is not usually down to the quality of the product or even its price, but a poor experience with poor customer service… which brings us onto the next key ingredient.

Staff and Service

“Quality of service” “Speed / Waiting times”. And with this, the team that delivers the product and experience: your staff.  “Friendly” “Knowledgeable” “Good staff” “Clean environment” and “Hospitality of the owner” all came up.

Good space planning is essential for the success of any restaurant, bar or cafe. A successful layout makes the most effective and efficient use of the space, maximising its potential without squeezing and cramping, but instead facilitates movement and therefore promotes faster service. Regardless of appearance, any café or bar will soon lose its allure if the service is slow or inefficient or if mistakes occur when delivering orders at the right time and temperature to the right tables.
Well trained, professional and friendly staff are crucial to ensure good daily running of your bar/ restaurant and set the tone.

From a design perspective, staff are part of the restaurant branding and can make or break a customer experience no matter how good the design may be. Having said this, sometimes you may accept the service is average if the surroundings and offer excel.

Ensuring staff are always presentable and that they reflect the brand when they are on or around the premises is always important.  And with any business creating a great team is led from the top – by you, the owner. And how you set the stage for your team plays a part in achieving your next key ingredients.

Atmosphere

“Buzz” “Personality” “Unique” “Acoustics/ sound” “Good music/ music levels” “Feeling” “Smell“

Atmosphere and ambience: the feeling a space evokes, the reading or emotional response a space induces in the user. The atmosphere is the staging of all the interior elements, the design, the work of the staff, your offer …all coming together to set a mood.

The exact type of atmosphere you create will depend on what is appropriate for your project and aims for your business ( which will also direct the style for your design). But although atmosphere can seem abstract, and hard to describe, generally it cannot just be willed into being; it takes direction and purpose to give you the best chance of achieving the mood you want.

A designer will work around your brief in conjunction with your brand values and will find the best way to create the right effect to attract the targeted audience/ customers.

And design is about more than surfaces, although these are important. It will also be considering the aspects that should in many ways be unremarkable when they are made to work: ventilation to extract unpleasant smells and retain the good smell of food flavours to induce appetite; considering sound levels and sources so a space has life and energy but can still be enjoyed; identifying how to regulate temperature and incorporate the visual impact and systems may have on the space. All this has an impact on the frequency people visit, how much they consume and how they respond to your Bar/ Restaurant.

Lighting

This was one of the words that came up a lot with atmosphere. And it is one of the most important aspects in our everyday life; it affects our mood and perception of time. Therefore lighting is essential to get right. Good illumination will complement the other design elements and contribute to the positive impression of the space, which along with good customer service and food can inspire customers to return.

Light can be practical, being used to guide people through corridors and circulation areas or ensuring menus can be read but not distort the colour of the food. Or light can add drama or character.

The most aesthetically pleasing and effective way to light a room is to have up to five layers of lighting: task lighting, ambient lighting, accent lighting, decorative lighting and statement/ feature lighting.
Examples of these lights are:
Task light:
The work lights under bar counter to light work surface for bartenders  
Accent light:
Works around the bar, on the back bar/ shelves, can be under counter, customer facing
Feature lights:
Pendant lights in a stairwell 
Ambient:
General spotlights 
Decorative:
Floor lamps, wall lights and table lamps

Location

This may be in terms of convenience, accessibility, the type of neighbourhood, being the first on your street, the view….

It may be being on a busy high street and finding a unique welcoming space to escape to. Or it may be the harmony or contrast between your bar/restaurant and its surroundings. The location and the nature of the property you take on can do part of the work for you in creating atmosphere and leading your design- you may have stumbled across a location that just seems to inherently have charm and the rest of the project flows from this.

However finding the perfect space is not always possible and there are often trade offs. Setting up your business in a high foot traffic area will encourage passing trade, however it can demand higher rent rates. And some argue that if you have an amazing offer, the location won’t matter because people will still come. However, promoting your offer and getting the visibility may be more costly. 

Design can play an important part of the equation in terms of your location. Elements from the surrounding area can inform the design, provide inspiration and be referenced as subtly or as boldly as you wish. But most importantly, considered design helps you discover the potential of your location, get the most from your investment whatever size or state the space is in that you are working with.   

Special mentions

There were several ‘key ingredient’ responses that stood out, for a variety of reasons. For some it was the personal preferences they gave away (“must be located in Mayfair’!). For others the detailed thinking they exhibited (“two good chefs“). Then there were those that surprised by not coming up more often (“Instagram-able”).
There were also ones that might become increasingly common as they take on greater importance to people (“sustainability” and “serving the community”).
And last, but certainly not least, there was one with which we thoroughly agree: “Consistency“.

Next steps

We hope you’ve enjoyed our list.
And remember, if you want a professional job, get a professional to do it : )

Good design makes good business sense. If you know you want to create a bar / restaurant / cafe then appoint a designer sooner than later, not just once you have signed the lease. It’s better to move into a space with a concept or idea of what you’re trying to achieve and use the rent free period to implement the vision rather than to start designing when you should be implementing. 

Common stages of our design service:
Familiarisation and strategy
Concept design
Design development
Detailed design and tender packages
Tender and value engineering
Implementation

These do take time, but save you more money and time in the long run if considered at the outset of the project.

Contact us at Nugget Design if you feel we are the right professional design agency for you and your next project.

Why not visit  Bank House and let us know what you think?
 Bank House 11 High Street, Chislehurst BR7 5AB 020 8249 0461.
Open all week 11.30am-10.30pm (6pm Sun).

The post Key ingredients for a successful bar and restaurant. appeared first on Nugget Design.

Check out the full review in The Guardian online here:
Grace Dent restaurant review of Bank House, Chislehurst

Very proud to read such comments as “an incredibly decent neighbourhood wine bar and restaurant with which I really cannot quibble. Bank House is unpretentious, welcoming and warm-spirited. It’s a proper Saturday night, do-your-hair-pretty, put-on-a-shirt kind of place, with an eye for detail and an imaginative menu. “

Why not visit and let us know what you think?
 Bank House 11 High Street, Chislehurst BR7 5AB 020-8249 0461.
Open all week 11.30am-10.30pm (6pm Sun).

The post Grace Dent’s fabulous review of our latest project Bank House Wine Bar and Kitchen. appeared first on Nugget Design.

Bank House, in the town’s high street, is a three-storey venue in a former NatWest High Street bank, run by Stuart Gillies and his exceptional team. He is joined by Chef Bobby Brown, who Stuart had worked with previously at Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen.

We were responsible for the complete project from concept to completion including branding, interior design and signage. We think we’ve helped to create not just a bar / restaurant but a real destination for the HIgh Street.

Here you can see some great before and after shots of Bank House.

And if you want to see more about the process and what we did you can see it in our portfolio here.

Please do go and visit. You won’t be disappointed!
Bank House 11 High Street, Chislehurst BR7 5AB, 020-8249 0461.
Open all week 11.30am-10.30pm (6pm Sun).

To learn more about our interior design projects see our portfolio

Like our work? Interested to find out more? Why not get in touch.
0208 295 3566 | ari@nugget-design.co.uk

The post Bank House Wine Bar and Kitchen has opened its doors appeared first on Nugget Design.

The post Re-energised travel brand Caribbee grows business by 10% in a declining market appeared first on Nugget Design.

Well done guys.  Its been a pleasure working with you and great to have award winning clients on our books. 🙂

Nugget Design were appointed by the independently run travel agency Go Travel to work on the branding, interiors, signage and inshore digital media for all 4 of Go Travels Branches. Chislehurst, Pettswood, Locksbottom and Blackheath. Have a look at out before and after pages in our portfolio to see what a transformation we did for them.

If you have a travel agency that is in need of a lift and you want to engage new clients, or have a store that better reflects your products and services then why not contact us at Nugget Design to see how we can help you.

The post Best South & South East Agent of the Year #GMT2Awards 2017! appeared first on Nugget Design.

Over the summer we have been working on our latest travel agency retail project: interior design and signage for local business Caribbee in their new store location on Tooting High Street.

Caribbee has actually been a part of Tooting life for more than 35 years, located in Selkirk Road where it was known as Club Caribbee Travel Shop. However the travel specialists’ managing director, Robert Sarran and his team had long wanted to move and create a new space that would reflect their quality, professionalism and detailed customer service. This year they managed to obtain great new premises and then appointed us to work with them to achieve their aim.

Sign design

With this project, as with all those that we work on from concept to implementation, we made regular site visits, working until the last detail is signed off.  Watching the elements come together and the design come to life is always exciting and we took the opportunity to go and see the newly installed shop sign a few weeks ago.

The illuminated signage was built and installed by our partners Hallmark Signs. Approaching the store as we walked along the road it was great to see the warm welcome the sign gives and also to see their newly shortened name – now just ‘Caribbee’ – lit up once evening came.
With this, and the onsite construction by our contractor team finished (another great job from Bespoke Design Interiors who fitted out the retail interior) it was just a case of the last few interior pieces to be put in to place and a final clean up by the Caribbee team before they would get settled in and the new shop on Tooting High Street would be ready to go.

From top left: Caribbee’s existing shop sign, our design concept, the new premises on Tooting High Street, technical drawings for sign build, installation and admiring the finished product.

The new Caribbee opens for business

The shop has now officially opened at its new address 270 Tooting Road, SW17 ODP.
We are really proud of how it has turned out and so pleased to see the Caribbee team enjoying their new home on the high street.

Photos of the finished interior and our design process to follow soon.

To learn more about our interior design projects see our portfolio

‘Saluting Tooting’

Why not explore Tooting this weekend? The annual Tooting event, ‘Tootopia’, is on from today until Sunday 24 September 2017. Includes street food, pop-up cinema and a pooch parade!….

For  details see www.tootopia.co.uk

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The post A new sign for Tooting High Street appeared first on Nugget Design.

Some highlights from our first day visit-  some great stands from familiar names as well as some new appearances which helped to keep the show feeling fresh.

Details of VGL’s gramophone

Next show takes place 18-19 April 2018 at the Business Design Centre, London, UK, N1 0QH
www.vmanddisplayshow.com

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The post Visual Merchandising Show 2017 appeared first on Nugget Design.