The unusual title of this book comes from a fundamental AvroKO design principle, "best ugly," which originated from a trip to China, where the term signifies something that is beautiful and charming in ...
Whether fast food or fine dining, all restaurants start with the same minimum daily requirements: research, financing and a design that captivates consumers and keeps them coming back. The seating mix, lighting levels and colors have to focus attention away from the rest of the food court or the new star-chef restaurant down the street. Made for their markets, EX Freshies, Domaso and Nampoong serve design up right.
EX FRESHIES
As founder and CEO of the Extreme Sports Channel, Al Gosling naturally had extreme ambitions when it came to extending the brand into food. "We were trying to create a new category that sits between McDonald's, Starbucks and Subway," Gosling explains, "a fresh food place that you can rock into." Getting buy-in wasn't easy, but he eventually secured financial backing from a firm in Dubai and tapped London-based Mystery Ltd. to dream up the design.
"It's an Extreme brand experience with freshly made food, but it's not a health-food, fast-food or themed brand," says Dan Einzig, Mystery's managing director. Part of Mystery's task was to develop a brand-appropriate design that would leverage Extreme's credibility while appealing to a wider audience.
The name itself, "EX Freshies," pointed to the solution. "Freshies" is slang for fresh snowboard tracks, but the name also speaks to the food offering. Similarly, the interior design includes signature elements that have widespread visual appeal while staying true to the brand - banquette seating that looks like a half-pipe, tick-tack seating, and materials such as rubber, plywood, concrete and steel.
Warm colors and skateboard wall graphics and sports photos keep the theme immersive, though few customers will ever guess the laborious process involved in sourcing these images. "The hardest part is finding access to great extreme sports photography that's current, credible and available at reasonable, royalty-free prices," says Einzig.
With floor plans ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet, having multiple seating options offers flexibility, creates visual appeal and helps traffic flow. Both the booths and banquettes define the space. With the ribs of the half-pipe banquette spaced 10 inches apart, the seating can be extended or minimized to suit the layout. And, because the café offers eat-in table service, there's no congestion around the serving area.
The initial $2 million investment looks to be paying off. After opening four EX Freshies in Dubai - with about 60 covers each - the London-based Extreme Group plans to take the concept into England, Japan and beyond.
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