CREJ - Retail Properties Quarterly - February 2015

Lessons learned from opening new restaurants

Aaron Mauck, Project Manager, The Kitchen, Denver / Leila Schwyhart, Designer, Semple Brown, Denver

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2014 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 October. 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 excitement 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 precedents for the future have been set, this information might also be useful to others embarking on a similar adventure. 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 successful 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 openings are part of a long-term strategy, a strong, closely connected design and construction team that remains intact from project to project is crucial. 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 vendors, 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 beginning a project, a thorough, detailed understanding of the mechanical systems is imperative to avoid unexpected problems or added costs down the road. This includes location, operability, potential for repurposing, level of efficiency and spatial needs of the infrastructure (i.e., electrical, heating, cooling and make-up air units, grease exhaust systems, distribution duct work and grease trap disposal).

Exhaust systems. Hood and grease exhaust systems can be particularly challenging due to their spatial and infrastructural requirements. Thus, they should be the primary consideration when determining the viability of transforming an existing space into a restaurant.

In Fort Collins, for example, the roof structure of the building had to be updated to support the needed rooftop ventilation equipment. This necessitated a surgical intervention to the existing structure, which involved peeling away a portion of the exterior walls and roofing.

Also, because grease exhaust must exit through the roof via a chase, restaurants located in multistory buildings present more complex issues. If a chase does not already exist, a vertical path to the outside must be found or created, which can be challenging in historic buildings because structural modifications are frequently required.

Lighting systems. Because lighting solutions are rapidly evolving, designing energy-efficient systems that are simple and cost-effective, yet allow for easy upgrading is key. The ability to take advantage of new technologies years before a space is ready for a complete remodel eliminates complex, costly retrofits and keeps operators happy.

Acoustics. Restaurant design is often about creating singular environments where sound quality is a critical factor in the success of the business, thus acoustical strategies and treatments must be carefully thought out early in the design phase. If treated as an afterthought, the addition of acoustical panels or other solutions can not only be unattractive, but financially prohibitive.

Historical buildings. Although renovating neglected historical buildings often can be a labor of love, preserving the character of the built environment within a city can be well worth the time and money investment (and the occasional headache!). Because the city approval process requires approximately four to six weeks, be sure to involve historic authorities and planning departments as early as possible to help align intentions and verify limitations in a timely manner. Making structural modifications to historic buildings can be challenging because they can severely alter the character of the space. However, if handled carefully, structural interventions can be cost-effective as well as visually compelling, even while retaining the charm of the original. Comprehensive evaluation of existing elements can also streamline decisions regarding what should be retained, modified or replaced.

Making structural
modifications to
historic buildings
can be challenging
because they can
severely alter the
character of
the space.

A Few Surprises

Substrates. While assessing the quality of existing floor substrates is important, also be aware of unstable structures and unleveled floors in historic buildings. This will allow preparation for remediation strategies well in advance of construction, and budgeting for the appropriate solutions. In one of the locations, for example, the crew had to implement a number of structural upgrades to the substrate of the historical building, ultimately rebuilding the entire framing to level the floor.

Long distance. Opening restaurants in other cities (both in- and out-ofstate) multiplies the complexities as well as the challenges. To resolve this, The Kitchen structured a flexible design and construction process to fit a variety of configurations and scales.

Developing efficiencies and finding a balance between the priorities of budget, brand and what your design can accommodate is a natural next phase as more locations are added and geographical scope expands.

Tips and Recommendations

Delegate to focus on what you love. Because the operator of The Kitchen restaurants is very hands-on when it comes to design, finishes and materials, the team reached a point where a seasoned professional was needed to manage projects moving forward.

While co-owner and chef Hugo Matheson is exceptionally talented in this area, it became obvious to him that opening four new restaurants in less than year, while fun and exciting, is also extremely time-consuming and takes him away from what he loves – being a chef! Look for efficiencies. As growth accelerated and locations expanded, discovering how to streamline operations and seek out efficiencies in design and budgeting became increasingly critical. Lessons learned about how to implement these ideas at future locations helped to accomplish this, and allowed the development process and timelines to speed up enabling a quicker move in. An example of this involved the back-of-house spaces.

While always striving to create unique dining experiences for customers and one-of-a-kind public spaces, streamlining kitchen operations is critical. Continually soliciting feedback regarding materials, adjacencies and systems from patrons and service staff helps designers create a better and more consistent template for the future.

Plan but be flexible. It is important to have a strong design in place prior to commencing construction, but be open to changing or evolving the design as unforeseen elements of the building are revealed or discovered during demolition. 3-D models allow for streamlining communications among team members before construction, therefore minimizing changes in the field. This was especially true for the first out-of-state project in Chicago. Once a high level of quality control was established, the design could evolve from one restaurant to the next while remaining true to its meaningful origins.