Little things on the table mean a lot

Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 1, 1997

Restaurant designers say that, even before looking at the menu, customers evaluate -- often subliminally -- your operation's theme, price range and ambiance based largely on what they see on the tables.

Today, tabletop components -- linen, china, glassware and flatware -- are getting more specialized and operators report that they're expanding their tabletop wardrobes to include different specialty items for different courses, menu items and meals.

Head-spinning choices in color, size, shape and materials are available now. Some restaurateurs enlist the help of designers and consultants to rein in the choices, and often begin the decision-making process by answering basic questions about theme, check average and demographics.

When designing the tabletop, a first decision is what to use for table covers. Linen, paper, glass? Paper over linen? Glass over linen? White, a dark color, pastel, printed, logoed? Matching napkins? Updating tabletops with new linen or colors doesn't always mean going upscale.

Is White Green?

If, for example, you want to project environmental friendliness, you may decide to switch from virgin white to recycled paper napkins. The Rainforest Cafe, for example, strives for a "green" image and uses unbleached paper napkins to reinforce that idea. The Rainforest, based in Hopkins, Minn., takes its Amazon theme to extremes with waterfalls, lightning, real rainstorms and animated animals and trees. With eight units to oversee, another eight scheduled to open by year's end, and 20 slated for 1998, Steve Schussler, creator and senior VP/development and marketing, is involved in design and execution as the chain grows.

"We started at our first unit at Mall of America with table toppers that were designed by a 13-year-old girl. They were made with compressed newspapers, so we liked the recycled aspect," Schussler says. "Unfortunately, they couldn't hold up to getting wet, so over time, we had to switch to tablecloths."

About three times a year, Schussler chooses new tablecloths, sifting through a bevy of new designs. The fabric is treated to be stain resistant and is covered with glass when in use. The cloth on every table is different, which makes choosing even more challenging.

Vases filled with a plastic that looks like water hold artificial flowers on the tables and, Schussler says, the kitchen sends out various menu items on plates and platters of different sizes and colors.

Rainforest Cafe customers are invited to shop, as well as dine during their visits. Specialty drinks and smoothies are served in logoed glasses and guests can have them for $4.50. Schussler says he believes that drink sales increase because of the glass offer and that guests like the idea of taking home a memory of their visit.

Fun on the Top

Another growing theme restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant & Market, owned by Rusty Pelican Restaurants, opened its first unit on Cannery Row in Monterey, Calif., in 1996 with plans for 23 new units in the next four years. Scott Barnett, president and CEO, says that designing tabletops was a team effort -- and a lot of fun.

"We started by saying. 'If Forrest Gump and his "best good friend Bubba" opened a restaurant, what would it be like?"' Barnett says. That was the beginning of the rustic, shrimp-shack, Bayou LaBatre-style design.

Rough wood tables, scrawled with "Gumpisms" and protected with varnish, are topped with rolls of paper towels, recycled paper napkins and hard plastic red, white or blue plates. "It's not exactly fine dining," Barnett laughs. "We serve shrimp in buckets and portions are huge."

Two original tabletop ideas are employed at Bubba Gump. One is a license plate that says "Run, Forrest, Run" on one side and "Stop, Forrest, Stop" on the other. Guests are instructed to call their server by flipping the license plate to the "Run" side.

Ping-Pong paddles are used as menus for smoothies and cocktails. Pages with color photos and drink descriptions are attached to the paddles.

Simple and Elegant

Independent restaurateurs also have tabletop issues to sort through. With a light-hearted, upscale theme in mind. John Christensen, co-owner of CJ's Restaurant in Bozrah, Conn., decided to go with a pink and teal color scheme. Folded teal napkins stand on pink linen tablecloths that are covered with glass. White china with an embossed swirl around the rim, stemmed water glasses and eight-inch glass bud vases filled with flowers that continue the pink-and-teal theme welcome guests to the tables.

"We feel that the colors on the tables really help establish our warm, friendly atmosphere," Christensen says. "We didn't want to overdo the tables. Simple says it."

In the Indianapolis suburb of Candy, Ind., Carl Huckaby is chef-owner of Chez Jean that presents a classic French menu in a formal setting. "We have three distinct dining rooms," says Huckaby, "and they range from a very formal room that's white and bright, to the country room that's a little less formal, and the garden room that has white tablecloths, but the fireplace and wallpaper make it feel warmer." Tables in the country room are covered first with white linen then with red-and-white checked cloths set on the diagonal. The table, Huckaby notes, including flowers and candles, sets the ambiance for every dining room. Huckaby had pewter chargers designed that are embossed with the Chez Jean name and logo to go under the white china.