Tagged Articles

Trend: The Boom in Restaurant-Distilleries

Craft distilling is hugely popular and enjoying unprecedented growth — there are 1,315 U.S. craft distillers, according to the American Craft Spirits Association. Pair this trend with the popularity of gastropubs, and you’ve got the unique experience of customers enjoying on-trend pub fare while taking pleasure in the drama of seeing spirits made before their eyes, sampling it straight or enjoying a craft cocktail.

How to Beat Flat Traffic Estimates in 2017

A new year will bring little to no traffic growth for the total U.S. foodservice market, according to market research firm The NPD Group.

Cameron Mitchell Restaurants Hosts Millennial Concept Challenge

Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, the brainchild of veteran restaurateur Cameron Mitchell and operator of 13 different concepts including OCEAN PRIME, will host the first ever CMR Millennial Concept Challenge.

Trend: Walk Up Windows

What’s one way to give traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants a shot of food-truck cool? Follow the lead of a growing number of operators adding walk-up windows. Sure, they’ve been around forever in some segments — think custard and hot dog stands — but in an industry in which everything old is eventually new again, walk-up windows are emerging as a hot and hip restaurant accessory.

Pei Wei Opens First Asia Location

Pei Wei Asian Diner opened its first Asia location in South Korea at Starfield Hanam, the country’s largest shopping mall. The chain partnered with ELX Food & Beverage, led by Chef Justin Choi, who will supervise the brand in the market.

The Libertine Opens at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas

James Beard Award-winning Chef Shawn McClain and chef/partner of Sage at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas teamed up with Studio Munge’s Principal Interior Designer Alessandro Munge and Modern Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim to develop the concept and food and beverage menus for Libertine Social, a new, high-end pub inside Mandalay Bay.

Jersey Mike’s Announces Expansion

Jersey Mike’s continues its expansion with its first Long Island restaurant opening in Commack, NY. This newest location is operated by franchisees John Walsh, Susan Daly and Nikki Gingola.

A Look at Earls Kitchen + Bar’s Chicago Location

Canadian chain Earls Kitchen + Bar continues its expansion into the U.S. with each restaurant showcasing a unique design. 

Trend: Hot and Heavy with Pizza Ovens

While all types of pizzas have been among America’s favorite foods, Neapolitan-style pies are the current hottest trend. As spelled out by the Italian organization Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, restaurant operators must make this “true” style of pizza to exacting standards. The association specifies the quality and type of ingredients, sauce and dough production techniques, and rising times. Most important, Pizza Napoletana

Design Trend: Offer a Backstage Pass

During rd+d’s recent webcast, Designers Dish, Live! (you can hear the whole thing for free here), three seasoned designers shared insights on some of the biggest forces and trends shaping their restaurant projects today. Top among them is the move to create integrative, immersive designs that bring diners closer to the action, that eliminate traditional barriers between front of the house

Design Trend: Offer a Backstage Pass

During rd+d’s recent webcast, Designers Dish, Live! (you can hear the whole thing for free here), three seasoned designers shared insights on some of the biggest forces and trends shaping their restaurant projects today. Top among them is the move to create integrative, immersive designs that bring diners closer to the action, that eliminate traditional barriers between front of the house

Kitchen Incubators

Gone are the communal commissaries or simple shared kitchens of years past. They have been replaced by fully integrated, meticulously designed kitchen incubators. In these spaces, small food businesses and professionals can work side by side with kitchen ownership, sharing best practices, sparking new ideas, pooling resources and knowledge as well as supplies, marketing and more. These incubators continue to become

Trend: Midcentury Modern Restaurant Design: One Icon and Three Newcomers

Mid-century modernism is back in fashion in a big way, both for commercial and residential spaces, and it’s a throwback trend that restaurateurs and designers are embracing in fresh new ways (see below for recent examples). The announcement in early March by the James Beard Foundation, naming The Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City as its inaugural Design Icon Restaurant Award winner, may fan the flames. This truly iconic restaurant is

Dickey's Barbecue Debuts New Design Model

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.opened a completely redesigned concept store in its hometown of Dallas with plans to roll out the new look nationwide to all future locations. Dickey's Barbecue Pit plans to retrofit many of its locations with aspects of the new model.

Trend: Incorporating Fire in Design

“Everyone is drawn to fire,” says Tim Byres, the executive chef and partner of Smoke in Plano, Texas. “Everyone has memories of fire, so there’s a nostalgia element to it.”

Designing on Trend: A Q&A with Stacy Garcia

Originally a pattern designer, Stacy Garcia founded LebaTex in 1999. The company produces commercial-grade textiles.

Trend: Self-Serve Beer Taps

The craft beer movement placed a big emphasis on draft, and that trend has since carried over to tap wine, craft soft drinks and cocktails. The newest iteration is serve-yourself draft taps. There are a number of permutations, from built-in units that require design integration and running draft lines to tables or a station, or drop-in units that can be easily retrofitted — just like adding a salad bar.

Fire Works: Hearths and Wood-Fired Grills are Sizzling Hot

Ancient architects laid the hearthstone first, then built the home or inn around the fireplace, the central nexus for heating and cooking. Today, the scent and savor of wood-grilled foods continue to exert a primeval appeal, and a growing number of restaurants now make live-fire hearths the heart of their concepts.

Draft Picks: Tapping More Than Beer

How More Restaurants  Are Tapping More Than Just Beer. 

Technomic: Top 500 Chains Show Growth