French Quarter-inspired dining: serving fresh and innovative buffet cuisine in a New Orleans-theme setting lures customers from the gaming tables to the plate

Nation's Restaurant News, June 2, 2003

In an effort to find a more productive use for its aging bowling alley, the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. invested $19 million to gut the sporting facility and install both a buffet and an a la carte restaurant, nearly doubling its foodservice profits.

Showboat Casino's previous buffet attracted about 2,200 covers per day, and its facility was both outdated and undersized, according to John M. Egnor, FCSI, of Linwood, Nj.-based JEM Associates. By tapping the casino's 44,000-square-foot bowling alley, Egnor was able to add the 585-seat French Quarter Buffet and a 285-seat a la carte restaurant called The Mansion Cafe. The new buffet is averaging more than 4,000 covers per day, Egnor said. To keep up with demand, Showboat is in the process of adding an additional 120-seat dining room and a public bar and also relocating and enlarging an existing service station. The new dining room features a stained-glass dome at the entrance. It also enables Showboat to reserve the room for private functions -- a flexibility not generally available in most buffets.

To give the buffet a more upscale appearance, interior designer Anthony Gaez of Las Vegas-based Marnell Corrao Associates created a contemporary view of Mardi Gras. In addition to decorating the interior with the purples, yellows and blues associated with the festive holiday, wrought-iron facades on each cooking station were inspired by the unique architecture of New Orleans' Bourbon Street, he said. Playing off the Bourbon Street theme, the tables closest to the buffet are designed to give the impression of patio seating. Also made from wrought iron, the tables are positioned below a portion of the ceiling painted to resemble a bright blue sky, complete with clouds. Creating the illusion of an outdoor patio helped break up the flat surface of the former bowling alley. In addition to a patio design, the buffet has two other dining areas, including one that is slightly elevated to evoke balcony seating.

To prevent buffet bottle-necking, Egnor of JEM Associates incorporated a scramble design for using six individually themed stations. Several of the stations include The AC Wok Company, which serves Asian fusion cuisine, and Mama Cucina, which cooks up a host of Italian offerings, including pizza from a woodburning oven. The Carving Co., specializing in rotisserie chicken, prime rib and turkey, is accented with a faux-copper exhaust hood.

As part of its goal to make the buffet a more upscale destination, Egnor said, the company added various made-to-order elements at each station. While the design is not an open kitchen, the feel of one is preserved for the guests, he added.

A prep line directly behind each of the stations in the buffet allows finishing touches to be made in front of customers to assure freshness. Making sure each station's design kept a low profile also gave customers cues of freshness by drawing their eyes to the prep kitchen. By using heated black glass surfaces instead of steam tables, Egnor enabled Showboat staffers to use an unlimited array of service dishes to enhance the presentation of the food and improve customer appeal. For example, stir-fry at the Asian station is served in woks.

Inspired by the gracious residences of the French Quarter, the Mansion Cafe sports a courtyard-centered dwelling. The plush dining rooms surrounding the courtyard incorporate lavish silks and embroidered fabrics. Although the cafe keeps its doors open around the clock, it does the bulk of its business during regular dayparts. To give customers dining during off-hours the illusion that the restaurant is packed, the design gives staffers the ability to close unused dining rooms.

To help make back-of-the-house operations run smoothly, project manager Kathy Melehan said, the team added one kitchen for each foodservice venue with a shared dishwashing area. The back of the house is designed to flow through, thus providing a smooth working environment in a limited amount of space, Egnor said. Owing to high buffet traffic volumes, Showboat chose to add a second dishwashing area. A service elevator also was installed as part of the project to deliver the sheer volume of material transported in and out of the kitchens.

Fast Facts:

Project: Showboat French Quarter Buffet and The Mansion Cafe Atlantic City, N.J.

Client: Showboat Hotel Casino

Foodservice Facilities Consultant: John M. Egnor, FCSI, JEM Associates, Linwood, N.J.

Interior Design: Anthony Gaez, Marnell Corrao Associates, Las Vegas