An authentic design for a restaurant of the future
Challenge
Develop the restaurant concept of the future
The Colmar Group hired us to develop the restaurant concept of the future, combining authentic, healthy, and traditional food with more efficient service and production processes, while rejuvenating its client mix. Can you combine sourcing and retaining good personnel, keeping operating costs under control (of which personnel costs are typically by far the largest category), optimizing service levels & processing times, while ensuring a comfortable, relaxed, and positive customer experience in order to maximize client retention.
In this project, Achilles deployed its Branding, Interior-, Service Design, and Innovation Consultancy disciplines
to come up with a holistic restaurant concept that combines the authentic and rustic look-and-feel of a traditional and trustworthy restaurant with modern technologies and processes.
Visual identity
Look-and-feel reflects the restaurant's core values
In order to retain the traditional human interaction with the customer, the dishes are served by a waiter – therefore, the customer experience is comparable to that of a more traditional restaurant. The restaurant’s interior, its choice of colors, materials, light, and decoration are all carefully selected and curated to holistically reflect and support the restaurant’s characteristic.
Service design
Minimal processing times
In its restaurant, clients can order their dish via a practically self-explanatory digital menu card on an iPad that is available on every table. The digital application gives tips and provides background information where required. Customers can therefore autonomously order their dish, but a waiter is available in case of questions. The digital order system ensures equal customer attention and a timely order and preparation process.
Service design
Open kitchen concept
In its kitchen, the choice of dishes is optimized such that no experienced chefs are required. Instead, while the overall menu variety is satisfactory, dishes are composed of a reduced number of pick-and-place ingredients. A high-temperature conveyer furnace prepares the dish to perfection within a couple of minutes. Consequently, the number of required personnel in the kitchen is reduced to a minimum, while at the same time ensuring minimal preparation times for customer dishes.
The result
Operating efficiencies have been substantially improved, and actual human involvement is reduced to a minimum.
