NRN honors 4 for innovative design at successful settings awards

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 20, 2003 by Ron Ruggless

NEW ORLEANS -- Four operators were honored for their innovative facilities design at the 2003 Successful Settings Awards Ceremony last month during the National Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers biennial exhibition here.

John McDonough, president for the foodservice division of Hobart Corp., which sponsors the award presentation along with Nation's Restaurant News, said, "The winners of the awards that are being delivered today won based on innovation in interior design and setting standards of excellence.

"Not only do they deliver through their innovations significant improvements in the dining experience for their customers," McDonough continued," but they also deliver improved operations in areas of increased traffic, greater customer satisfaction, higher crew satisfaction levels and sales growth."

Award winners and their categories were Red Lobster, casual theme; Big Boy Restaurants International LLC, family dinner-house; Coaxum Enterprises Inc./McDonald's, quick service; and Boston College's Stuart Dining Hall, on-site.

Alan Gould, NRN publisher, said the award winners represented "really exciting design applications."

Jerry White, associate publisher of NRN, added that the winners' "innovative facilities design really sets the standard for the foodservice industry."

Honorees summarized their designs as follows.

Patricia Bando, director of dining services at Boston College, said the 52-year-old building that houses the award-winning Stuart Dining Hall was renovated to serve meals from 7:30 a.m. to midnight.

"That provides a lot of opportunity to make sure the young people are nourished," Bando said. "We do about 2,500 covers per day."

The hall has a 1,900-square-foot service area, a 2,275-square-foot kitchen and a 4,105-square-foot dining area.

"This allowed us to create an exhibition cooking station," she said. "The customers can smell the great aromas of pastries and desserts throughout the day."

Bando said the Stuart Dining Hall doesn't have any "mystery meat." She said the renovation allowed for a much more "glamorous" exhibition area that assures students and other customers that they are getting the freshest foods.

Henry L. Coaxum Jr., owner of Coaxum Enterprises Inc. and a McDonald's franchisee, said the New Orleans-area McDonald's renovation that won the quick-service award was intended as a destination. "We're actively involved in the community," he said. "We wanted to attract families and kids."

The complete renovation of the McDonald's unit established a polished lobby area and an area with computers for Internet access.

The renovation has increased the number of individual transactions at the store more than 40 percent, Coaxum said.

In the family-dinnerhouse segment, David A. Knitter, franchise-development manager for Big Boy Restaurants International LLC, accepted the award. "We thought it was time to give a 60-year-old brand a new image," Knitter said. The prototype unit is in Grand Rapids, Mich.

John Altomare, senior vice president for concept development at Red Lobster, a division of Darden Restaurants, accepted the Successful Settings Award for the casual-theme segment. "As we entered a new century at Red Lobster," Altomare said, "we decided we really had to focus on how we were going to evolve the brand."

The 35-year-old chain decided it needed to change its look, he said.

"A lot of people had their first seafood experience at a Red Lobster," he said, and the company wanted to maintain that heritage.

The "Coastal Home" prototype Red Lobster in Florida employed lighter colors and an airier look than the nautical theme of the past, Altomare said. The bar area was expanded and freshened, he said, which has increased adult-beverage sales.

"In our new design the bar has become a focal point," he said. Lighting shifts colors, and artwork is subtle. "We wanted to create some energy within the restaurant," he explained, "while at the same time we have gotten rid of half walls. It's open and accessible." The entry features a two-tiered lobster tank.

"We wanted to create a seaside feeling and connection without getting into the beach, so to speak," he said.

The design also included a re-engineered kitchen and allows different seating configurations. The prototype design is about 100 square feet smaller than that of earlier Red Lobsters, he said, but it adds about 28 seats.

The Coastal Home design was employed at the new Red Lobster recently opened in Times Square of New York.

"We're not taking you to a specific place," Altomare said. "We really wanted to stimulate the thoughts of being relaxed, being on the water, being on vacation and other fond memories."