Designers cook up restaurants? success

What makes you return to a restaurant again and again? Certainly good food and attentive servers are essential, but the restaurant’s ?ambiance is a large part of what makes a restaurant someone’s favorite,? said Scott Rodwin, owner of Rodwin Architecture in Boulder.

Rodwin Architecture, along with Denver-based Okura Interior Design and Feng Shui, designed the award-winning interior of Japango Restaurant in Boulder.

Whether it’s down-home or upscale, effective atmosphere makes dining out more than just getting something to eat. ?Ambiance is about an experience,? said Eiko Okura, owner of Okura Interior Design. ?It’s not just about eating food. It (makes a restaurant) another wonderful place to go.?

Understanding the client’s menu and market segment should be the first step in starting any restaurant project, according to Tim Trapp, owner of Trapp Associates Ltd. in Boulder. Specializing in restaurant interiors, Trapp Associates has revamped more than 250 eateries.

?Our role is to see the forest,? he said.

Although the chef may be four-star, he may not understand how the décor impacts diners’ perceptions of the restaurant. ?The place may feel more expensive than the menu is or vice versa,? Trapp said.

This misunderstanding may drive away disappointed diners, despite the food’s quality. ?We create a design that is consistent with the overall vision of the restaurant,? Rodwin said. ?It should complement the food and service. Some go for a very strong theme.?

With its bold oriental motifs, Japango is a clear example of boldness. Rodwin and Okura used color, texture and lighting to create the exotic feel of the Orient, according to Okura.

?We painted the floors to reflect Japanese goldfish,? Rodwin said. ?It lent an air of excitement with the reds, yellows and oranges. We also incorporated slate on the walls, which added a level of quality and solidity.?

This contrast helped tone down the flashy floor. ?We wanted something that wouldn’t be threatening, but balanced,? Rodwin said.

The next step should be to understand the mood the owner is trying to achieve. This is what makes each project unique.

Japango’s new look garnered a Merit Award from the Colorado North Chapter of the American Institute of Architects’ annual 2001 Design Awards. Rodwin and Eiko’s achievement stemmed from an ability to understand what the client wanted and to make it happen.

For example, to create an air of intimacy over the sushi bar, a curved, wooden awning was added to lower the ceiling and define the space better. ?It gives people the feeling that they aren’t hanging out in a large space,? Rodwin said.

Some diners enjoy feeling part of the action and like sitting in open tables in the middle of the hustle and bustle of wait staff and other diners, according to Trapp. ?Others want to be protected in a booth,? he said. Raising booths several inches off the floor elevates diners above the busy activity to make them feel more secluded.

Creating a period setting depends on all the elements of design, including sound. When Trapp Associates remodeled the Denver ChopHouse years ago, the goal was to create ?the mood of 1938,? Trapp said. ?That’s when train travel was the ultimate. It’s a romantic era.?

Trapp believes that the restaurant’s music was critical in creating the right atmosphere for the ChopHouse. ?The music was custom formatted,? Trapp said. ?Music is usually overlooked. (Restaurants) usually get a music service. But you get in this certain mood with Frank Sinatra singing.?

Unfortunately, not all restaurant owners have a specific finished plan in mind, according to Drew Stewart, owner of Adue Interiors in Boulder. ?They usually know the kind of reaction they want in their customers, but they can’t see the whole vision in their minds,? she said.

By using picture of existing restaurants, designers help owners by having them point out colors, dimensions, textures, lighting affects and spatial layouts they like and don’t like. ?We don’t copy any of those inspirations, but we try to extract the best quality of those and come up with an original design,? Rodwin said.

Sometimes, finding out what owners like is harder to do than it sounds. ?The goal isn’t always crystal clear,? Trapp said. ?But we always say, ?The length of the trail doesn’t matter, as long as it’s the right one.’ ?

Looking at illustrations seems to be the easiest way to nail down what owners want. ?They may not recognize the consistent theme,? he said. ?We figure out what qualities, such as lighting or texture, that make it work.?

As the design begins to take shape, Trapp starts ?weeding out fact from fantasy,? he said. ?We start unfolding this image to them which is a touchstone for the project.?

Rough sketches help make the ideas more real. ?We have a number of points at which we come back to test the sanity of the concept,? Trapp said.

One part of these reality checks is monitoring the budget. ?That kind of awareness makes for a successful project,? Stewart said.

Trapp agreed. ?The budget is a critical thing for us,? he said. ?We don’t want to overspend.?

One way of doing this is to ?key in on important areas that were going to be a lot of impact,? Stewart said. Instead of wasting her client’s money making every aspect outstanding, Stewart focused on the bar when remodeling Triana.

?They knew they wanted the really hip people who want a place to meet other people,? she said. The bar was therefore designated to be the hub of activity.

?The lights above the bar are very expensive,? Stewart said, ?And they create a really soft, sensual, expensive mood when you first walk in.? By combining Old World charm in the form of earthy colors and textures, with cutting-edge shapes, Stewart created what she believes is an appealing blend of tradition and up-to-the-minute style.

Triana General Manager Greg Topel was pleased with Stewart’s work in his restaurant. ?It’s a cosmopolitan feel, and it has served us really well,? he said.

The problems inherent to each project also make each unique. ?Sometimes, you can turn it around to make it even better,? Okura said.

Part of what made Japango stand out to the American Institute of Architects was how Rodwin and Okura handled issues of the restaurant’s layout. ?I don’t call them problems,? Okura said. ?They are challenges, and there are always ways to work with it.?

The 2,200-square-foot restaurant offered only five feet of storefront — ?a bottleneck,? Okura recalled. ?We used floor-to-ceiling mirrors to visually expand the space.?

Gracious hospitality is a hallmark of Japanese culture, but the cramped entryway a Japango sent the opposite message. ?Quite often, you can send two different signals,? Trapp said.

Not all problems may be easily solved, however. The location of the fire alarm system was a problem for one of Stewart’s projects. ?There was nothing we could do about it,? she said. ?It was in the middle of the back wall. I don’t think it detracts, but I wouldn’t want it there with beautiful glass inserts (next to it).?

Solving these problems is part of the ongoing dialogue between designer and restaurant owner.

?Communication is the key,? Trapp said. ?We relearned that over and again. We hold them by the hand from the very first meeting until opening night. It’s not about any one element ? color, lighting or texture. We want to make dining out one seamless experience.?

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