October 9, 2014
Adaptive Reuse Project Profile: Pizza Man, Milwaukee
Pizza Man, a Milwaukee institution since the 1970s, lost its original cozy, dark, 55-seat location to a fire in 2010. Encouraged to rebuild by loyal fans, the business moved into a dramatically remodeled and significantly larger, 225-seat space last summer. The project marks the renaissance of a beloved local restaurant and highlights the creative, adaptive reuse of a historic space in the city’s eclectic East Side neighborhood.
Chain Development Report
Restaurant chains making headlines include Black Bear Diner, Atlanta’s Café Intermezzo, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut, Project Pie and TGI Friday’s.
Native Foods Café Expands to D.C.
Fast-casual vegan restaurant chain Native Foods Café has opened the first of eight units planned for the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia market. Located in D.C.’s Golden Triangle neighborhood, the newest unit seats 116 and is the chain’s first on the East Coast.
New York’s Iconic Rainbow Room Shimmers Again
Rainbow Room, New York City’s historic landmark and iconic restaurant atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Rockefeller Center, has reopened to the public after being closed for the past five years. Operating as a combination restaurant and event space, Rainbow Room is open Sundays for brunch and Monday evenings and most holidays for dinner. Private events can also be booked during the week.
Benihana of Tokyo, Japanese Iron Chef Partner in KOA
Keiko Ono Aoki, CEO of the Benihana of Tokyo chain, and Japanese Iron Chef Yuji Wakiya have partnered to launch KOA, a new “haute modern Chinese” noodle restaurant concept. Opened in New York City’s Flatiron District in late September, KOA is a casually upscale restaurant with a large, central bar and 22-foot solid wood communal dining table as key design features. It occupies 6,000 square feet of space on the first and second floors of a commercial building, with total capacity of 125.
Granite City Brings Updated Prototype Design to Naperville, Ill.
Granite City Food & Brewery plans to open the doors on a new 11,000-square-foot restaurant in Naperville, Ill., on October 29. The polished casual, modern American restaurant features an on-site brewery and a new, upscale contemporary prototype design that the Minneapolis-based chain introduced in May 2012 in Troy, Mich. A full-service, wrap-around bar flows into an atrium, open kitchen, central hearth oven, private dining room and patio.
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