30
/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / SEPTEMBER 2015
W
e’ve all been there.
A client stops by
unexpectedly, just
in time for lunch. Your team
just won the project they’ve
been working on securing for
months. A quick-fire meeting
goes into overtime.
A meal is in order, something
special, somewhere nice. But
while a white-tablecloth restau-
rant seems too formal and can be
time-consuming and pricey, the
go-to place around the corner is too
mundane. What to do?
Thankfully, the recent influx of
what has come to be known
as “fast-casual” restaurants is
providing the perfect option for
people on the go who don’t want
to sacrifice flavor and ambience
for a satisfying dining experience.
An article in the local daily recent-
ly noted that fast-casual dining was
the fastest-growing segment of the restaurant
industry with $38.5 billion in total annual sales
last year.
The article was prompted by the fact that Den-
ver in particular is experiencing a fast-casual
restaurant boom. What began with the opening of
Chipotle Mexican Grill here in the mid-1990s, fol-
lowed by Smashburger in 2007, has enabled restau-
rants like Pizzeria Locale, by fine-dining Frasca
Food & Wine’s Bobby Stucky and Lachlan Mackin-
non-Patterson, to expand out of state. Now, let’s take
the concept one step further and raise the standards
to a “fast-fine” dining experience.
Keeping a finger on the pulse of the trend, our
firm is proud to be the architecture and interior de-
sign partner on the new Honor Society Handcrafted
Eatery, slated to open soon on 16th Street, adjacent
to the newly redeveloped Union Station. Over the
last 11 months, the R+B team has worked hand in
hand with Honor Society founding partners Rob Al-
varado, Jonas Tempel, Ian Smith and Justin Brunson
(owner and executive chef of Old Major and Master-
piece Delicatessen in Denver). Brunson plans to pair
his daily Honor Society specials, made with seasonal
Colorado-based ingredients, with a full-service bar
and craft cocktails created by Glenn Pollack, former
head bartender of Oak at Fourteenth, thus bringing
a holistic approach to the fast-fine establishment.
As the designers of the space, we look at the en-
vironment as a full-service restaurant rather than
a typical “fast-food” or “casual” establishment. Sit-
uated in a LEED-certified building, which required
each tenant also to achieve LEED certification, the
design inspiration of the 3,500-square-foot space is
to join together a barn’s perpetuity with the clean,
fresh lines of a modern loft. Working alongside our
client, we did not compromise the design. It is just
as high quality as you would find in a full-service
restaurant. Instead, the team defined the brand’s
mission, thus raising the expectations on restaurant
design, food and service – while maintaining a low-
er price point.
A chef-driven design, creative menu curation and
specific kitchen design requirements were the fun-
damentals of the project, with the pizza oven as the
centerpiece. With such a robust kitchen plan, there
was little distinction between designing a fine-din-
ing restaurant or a fast-fine establishment; the only
difference was to anticipate the flow of the space.
To aid in the flow of the restaurant, which includes
an ample bar and offers both sit-down dining and
take-out services, we utilized extensive 3-D model-
ing. This helped fine-tune the design and materi-
als palette and allowed the client team to “see” the
space prior to construction.
While waiting for their order, guests are treated to
a view of the open kitchen where fresh, seasonal in-
gredients are being transformed into healthy, taste-
ful dishes. Restraining the already neutral palette of
primarily reclaimed and recycled materials allows
for the colorful menu offerings to shine through
and not compete with the interior design. Thus the
overall design serves as a platform to elevate the
menu items.
Honor Society surely will serve as a hub for resi-
dents, visitors and local workers looking for healthy,
well-crafted, affordable food. The fun, contemporary
setting is a bonus. Helping to create it from scratch
for such insightful clients was a delight. And, lucky
for us, our studio is only a few blocks away.
\\
Photo courtesy Brent Moss
Honor Society Handcrafted Eatery
TRENDS
in Restaurant Design
Brandt
Shwayder,
LEED AP
Project
Manager,
Rowland+
Broughton
Archi-
tecture/
Urban
Design/
Interior
Design
Sarah
Broughton, AIA
Principal,
Rowland+
Broughton
Archi-
tecture/
Urban
Design/
Interior
Design
