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Page 20 — Retail Properties Quarterly — February 2015
2 014 was a fast-track year for
The Kitchen, with four new
openings in less than nine
months. The first opening was
Next Door Glendale in March,
followed by The Kitchen Fort Collins in
June, then Next Door Union Station in
July and finally, the first restaurant out
of state, The Kitchen Chicago in Octo-
ber. Navigating the
challenges of this
level of accelerated
growth was a new
experience for the
team, and it brought
a commensurate
amount of learning.
Reflecting on
the whirlwind of
activity and excite-
ment that was
experienced, the
staff recognized
there is no better
way to improve an
already well-honed
process than to put
new learnings and
insights to work
immediately. Thus,
while new prece-
dents for the future
have been set, this
information might
also be useful to
others embarking
on a similar adven-
ture. Here are a few
good reminders, some surprises and a
recommendation or two.
Good Reminders
Operator-designer relationship. A
solid, trust-based operator-designer
relationship is key to the success of
each project with continuity among
the development team critical to
assuring that lessons learned on one
project can be collaboratively applied
to the next. Designs for each location
will naturally evolve, making a team’s
collective knowledge and experience
base extremely valuable, particularly
when timelines overlap and converge.
Further, a project is always more suc-
cessful when the operator participates
in the design process and offers input
– in this case, the operator was Hugo
Matheson, co-owner of The Kitchen.
Design and construction team. When
the pressure is on and multiple open-
ings are part of a long-term strategy,
a strong, closely connected design
and construction team that remains
intact from project to project is cru-
cial. It is incredibly important to
thoroughly understand the scope
of a project before moving forward.
Bring in an architect early to help
assess new spaces before committing
to anything, and get a designer and
contractor involved in the process
right away to reduce changes once
construction begins. Meet face to face
on a weekly basis, maintain strong,
longstanding relationships with ven-
dors, consultants and subcontractors,
listen for opportunities to better your
design and visit the site often during
construction to minimize surprises.
Pre-coordination with base building
teams also can reduce unnecessary
headaches later on as core and shell
buildings often are built (out) without
consideration to future tenant needs.
Mechanical systems. Before begin-
ning a project, a thorough, detailed
understanding of the mechanical
systems is imperative to avoid unex-
pected problems or added costs down
Restaurant Update
Aaron Mauck
Project manager,
The Kitchen,
Denver
Leila Schwyhart
Designer, Semple
Brown, Denver
The Kitchen Denver is easily seen from 16th Street Mall and incorporates exposed brick in its design.
Next Door makes use of the newly renovated, historical Union Station building.