Keeping up with evolving consumer demands in the restaurant industry has never been easy — even more so since the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020. As reported by CNN in August of this year, “Now, over three years later, the restaurant industry is back. But the pandemic ushered in some changes that are here to stay.” The article explains that dining rooms are shrinking, delivery is in demand, and there are still too many jobs for too few workers.

At CIP Retail, our team has also seen significant changes and evolutions in restaurant design trends.

“The need for innovative solutions to attract and keep guests coming back is a priority for our clients,” said Christina Saner, CEO of CIP Retail. “Our focus is to help them create truly unique and memorable experiences to help differentiate them from competitors and leave their guests craving more.”

As we look ahead, here’s a taste of the trends we see continuing and even growing in 2024.

Trend #1: Immersive Experiential Design

1. Visually Transport Diners to Another World

Creating emotional connections with restaurant guests will continue to be an important goal in interior design. In addition to satisfying picky palates and noses with delicious foods and smells, many restauranteurs are also looking at ways to delight the other senses.

As the saying goes, we eat with our eyes first. Creating visually appealing dishes is important, but a restaurant’s interior design is equally important if you want guests to experience another culture.

“They see your design first,” said Matthew Valerius, Creative Director at CIP Retail. “And if you want to transport them into another world, it starts the minute they step inside your doors.”

The CIP Design Team did just that with Enson Harbor, a Chinese Dim Sum restaurant designed to create a comfortable and authentic environment. The team immersed themselves in the culture to understand exactly what was needed. They also focused on finding economical solutions for the redesign, a critical strategy for the project’s success. Having in-house designers, fabricators and installers at CIP, allowed the team to hit the mark and implement the desired authentic look quickly.

2. Background Noise Matters

Restaurants are naturally noisy. The sound of plates clanging, groups of guests chattering, music blaring, you name it — all happening in, often, small spaces. And the noise level seems to be rising thanks to the trend of wide-open spaces and the repurposing of buildings such as warehouses and old factories.

Design features can play an important role in minimizing noise. Dividers, sound-absorbing materials, and ceiling modifications are important features to consider when thinking about minimizing noise and elevating the customer’s experience.

3. A Touchy Subject

COVID-19 changed the way many restaurants operate. While the avoidance of physical contact has waned, the pandemic’s after-effects still have guests seeking safer dining options. With the use of QR codes as menus, wipeable booth materials, and stylish permanent dividers in smaller spaces, incorporating touch in today’s environment can be tricky, and non-traditional alternatives must be considered.

Trend #2: Localizing the Guest’s Experience

Restaurants are finding ways to create memorable experiences for guests. One way to do that is by localizing the design to keep them engaged and loyal. According to a survey by insurance group NEXT, 64 percent of restaurant-goers have intentionally chosen local restaurants over chain restaurants since the pandemic began. Most of the survey respondents said they prefer smaller eateries because they like to support local businesses (87%), like the atmosphere better (69%), and know the people who work there (69%).

“This doesn’t mean the larger chains can’t emulate mom-and-pop designs and incorporate the localization factor,” said Keith Koester, Sales Engineer at CIP Retail. “It also goes way beyond providing specialized dishes. There are many opportunities to incorporate and localize the interior space to make guests feel welcome and part of the local community.”

Buffalo Wings and Rings, with nearly 60 locations across 10 states, understands this well. They’ve incorporated event walls into all of their store redesigns and new builds. Each wall features hyperlocal events, fundraisers, and partnerships that guests care about in their community. They’ve also incorporated a “Brews on Tap” wall behind the bar featuring both local and national beers. Each wall can be customized and updated as events and menu items change, keeping the information relevant and timely.

Trend #3 Focusing on Value Engineering

As supply chain concerns and the fluctuating costs of construction materials continue to be a focus, value engineering has become an increasingly critical component in restaurant design. And it’s not going away any time soon. CIP specializes in bringing value engineering expertise to the table.

“Our team can design a space from top to bottom by utilizing cost-saving construction techniques and alternative materials that achieve the same look and feel but at a fraction of the cost,” said Tom Richardson, Sales Manager at CIP Retail. “Even if we do not design the space, we work closely with the client or their interior designers and/or architects to save budgets while enhancing the brand and restaurant aesthetics.”

Examples of value engineering design include:

Material Selection: Reclaimed wood, condensed PVC, and low-maintenance finishes can create expensive looks without the high price tag. CIP recently tackled this challenge for Buffalo Wings & Rings. The original plan of the restaurant redesign involved incorporating white penny tile onto a wall, but the installation process was time-consuming, and the material was expensive when adding it to 80+ locations. CIP replicated the penny tile look by utilizing sheets of condensed PVC. In-house experts then routed out the individual round penny tiles and textured the grout lines to create the same look and feel as an expensive hand-tiled wall.

Smart Lighting: One way to maximize savings is by utilizing LED lighting options. This energy-efficient alternative can provide substantial cost savings, is highly customizable, and helps create the desired mood for the interior space.

Repurpose Materials: You don’t have to start from scratch for every redesign. Repurposing and reimagining existing furniture, fixtures, and décor items will maximize tight budgets. Instead of creating completely new features and elements for Enson Harbor, CIP re-vinyled large existing cubes and other signs to save valuable time and resources.

The restaurant industry will continue to transform as tastes and trends evolve. Those who place emphasis on value engineering design when budgets are tight and keep pace with consumer demands will continue to thrive and evolve with the changing times.

Want to speak with one of our design experts? Contact us today.

Retail store signage comes in all shapes and sizes. In restaurants, commercial-grade printed wall vinyl is especially popular. The restaurant wall vinyl used in this project is a thick, textured Type II wallcovering that helps hide imperfections in the drywall. You can print almost any type of color or pattern on the wall vinyl you desire.

Our client Dragon City provided the designs you see here for its new restaurant opening in Florence, Kentucky, on Houston Road.

We took on two projects: Manufacture and install the restaurant’s wall vinyl, as well as repurpose large, existing light fixtures to be high design but budget friendly.

Manufacturing of the wall vinyl took two to three weeks, and the installation took about three to four days. Proper installation of wall vinyl is an art in and of itself and one of the most important parts of the job. The patterns and verbiage need to line up perfectly for a professional finish. You also don’t want to see any seams or bubbles in the vinyl.

Our second job was repurposing its three three-foot-diameter light fixtures. Rather than purchasing new light fixtures, we removed the acrylic from the existing fixtures, took it back to our shop, and drew it up to make a cut file that would fit perfectly in the fixture. We printed a new Dragon City logoed acrylic, cut it, and laid it back into the existing lights.

For the client, this is a couple of thousand-dollar savings over buying new lighting fixtures.

If you’re looking for a bit of irreverent, subtropical ambiance in the heart of the Midwest, stop in at The Wicked Pickle on the Little Miami Scenic Trail.

According to the restaurant’s owners, the name “The Wicked Pickle” is a mash-up of the popular Key West establishment The Wicked Lick and some cyclists on the Loveland Bike Trail who like to eat pickles and drink pickle juice. Unfortunately, the identities of these masked green riders have not yet been revealed on the restaurant’s website.

CIP Retail was hired to design and create new restaurant signage to adorn the outdoor dining area.

The playful island restaurant décor includes two 15” x 48” menu boards printed to look like old-fashioned chalkboards and iconic, wooden directional signage. It lets bikers know precisely how far away they are from their next adventure.

Cincinnati, 18 miles south. Key West itself, only 1,028 miles to go.

Buffalo Wings & Rings rolled out a new restaurant design at a brand-new location in Milford, Ohio, in the summer of 2020.

The redesign, in the works for many years, was ahead of its time. Even before COVID19 hit, Buffalo Wings & Rings recognized the changing habits of its customers. Part of their redesign was adding a valet pick-up area connecting directly to the back-of-house to help handle the increasing volume of off-premise orders.

Customers who were dining indoors also were demanding a different experience. They wanted more local flavor and a connection to the community.

They wanted more distinct dining areas with separation between those who wanted a family dining experience and those who wanted to hang out at the bar with friends. And they wanted more of a “home-like” feel to their experience with warmer palettes, lighter hues, and amenities like booths that featured their own TVs.

NELSON Worldwide, one of the largest architectural firms in Greater Cincinnati, designed the prototype restaurant. A high-end, club-level dining experience that incorporated all the top trends in restaurant design, including an abundance of texture, light, and local flavor for on-brand design and storytelling.

Buffalo Wings & Rings hired CIP Retail to take the design from concept to installation.

Challenge:

Scope:

The Focal Wall Solution

The bright white logo focal wall is one of the key pieces in the redesigned interior of Buffalo Wings & Rings. It’s crisp, clean, vibrant, and fun. It draws your eye toward the great local brews on tap at the bar, and it seamlessly connects the bar and traditional dining area into one cohesive space.

Not only does restaurant decor need to be highly functional – easy to clean and sanitize and able to stand up to traffic and spills – but it also needs to be aesthetically appealing to the eye. That’s why texture is such an essential part of restaurant interior design today.

The original design plan called for contractors to install genuine penny tiles on the focal wall, followed by hand-painting of the logo and other décor elements. However, it would be labor- and time-intensive for contractors to execute. The focal wall is 50′ wide by 16′ high – more than 800 square feet of tiling and painting.

This is where CIP Retail’s extensive knowledge of materials and manufacturing techniques came into play to develop a solution.

Using 4 x 8 sheets of Palboard® (a multi-layer board with a PVC surface and low-weight foam core), we were able to create a bright white, textured focal wall covering that could be installed much more quickly and cost-effectively. Palboard also is an excellent substrate for printing on, so the additional painting step could be eliminated.

The Results

The Wings & Rings logoed focal wall is the heart of the new Milford restaurant. At night, it’s so bright that you can see it clearly from the road as it beckons to patrons and welcomes them inside for a night of camaraderie and sports. It’s one of the most commented-on features by patrons and staff alike.

The prototype design proved successful, and Buffalo Wings & Rings is now rolling out this new prototype store to all its ground-up restaurant builds.

The solution CIP Retail came up with to economically and elegantly achieve the designer’s vision is easily replicable. CIP Retail is now producing the interior décor and signage elements for a new Buffalo Wings & Rings restaurant in Campbellsville, Kentucky, and the chain’s first restaurant south of the border in Reynosa, Mexico.

Creating a unique and inviting interior design concept is incredibly important for restaurants and cafes. Owners want their customers to feel comfortable and relaxed. They also want the décor to be recognizable and unique to the brand’s identity.

We help our restaurant customers execute custom-made interior designs, such as branded mosaic focal walls and custom light fixtures, but in ways that won’t break the bank.

The Ceiling as Art

Forget white drop ceiling tiles. Have you looked up in a restaurant lately? A big trend is using the ceiling as part of the décor. From intricate light fixtures to murals and mosaics, ceilings can be a great place to express the restaurant’s individuality.

Our restaurant client in Florence, Kentucky, wanted to tap into this trend with custom, dragon-themed overhead fixtures, but it would cost them several thousand dollars to replace their current fixtures.

Our solution: Rather than purchasing new light fixtures, we repurposed the restaurant’s three-foot-diameter fixtures. We removed the acrylic in the fixtures, took it back to our shop, and made a cut file that would fit perfectly. We then printed a new dragon-logoed acrylic and laid it back into the existing lights.

Retro Elegance

Another interior design trend in restaurants is the return to a retro-style décor. Not overwhelming, like the original 1970’s Brady Bunch house, but elegant, mixing modern designs with period pieces. Classic round penny tile, for example, is back in full force.

In Cincinnati, Ohio, our client’s new restaurant concept had a design plan that called for a dazzling focal wall made with genuine penny rounds, which would then be hand-painted with the restaurant’s logo. However, it was going to be labor- and time-intensive for the contractors to execute. The wall was 50′ wide by 16′ high – more than 800 square feet of tiling and painting.

Our solution: We mimicked the look and texture of the penny tile using 4 x 8 sheets of PVC. We printed the logo directly on the PVC, and the bright, white focal wall covering was much easier and faster to install.

Industrial Chic

Another trend in restaurant interior décor is the popularity of an industrial look, with steel details and exposed lights.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, our client’s concession café was going to have the relaxed industrial vibe of a repurposed shipping container. However, the specially cut corrugated metal arrived in the color red instead of blue. Placing a new order was going to cause a significant time delay that the project could not afford.

Our solution: Luckily, we have a nearly 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility and superb craftsmen. We repurposed the red metal in another building area, so it wouldn’t go to waste. We then custom cut and rounded new corrugated metal sheets to fit the concession stand as initially intended and painted it blue. Finally, we provided outside, inside, and top corner pieces to finish the café and give it a clean and polished look.

At CIP Retail, our in-house manufacturing capabilities and understanding of materials cost allow us to provide valuable solutions to our restaurant clients. So whether you need to implement a new interior design package in just one restaurant or across an entire chain, we can help. Contact us today.

The Challenge

After conducting market research in the area, a local restaurant in Kentucky decided it was time to change its concept. Offering a unique dining experience, Enson Harbor transformed from a general seafood establishment to an authentic Chinese Dim Sum restaurant. And while the restauranteurs had the menu down, they didn’t know where to start when redesigning the restaurant’s interior. Since the CIP Retail team designed the first concept, the Enson Harbor owners knew exactly where to go for help.

The Solution

CIP designers and engineers immediately immersed themselves in the culture to create the right look and feel for an authentic Dim Sum restaurant. The team led the redesign by focusing on utilizing existing elements. Instead of creating new features, large existing cubes and other signs were re-vinyled and walls were re-painted. They also incorporated innovative design features with wheatgrass planters, faux ivory tiles, stained wood features, and printed acrylics to beautify the space on a limited budget.

The Results

The CIP team saved time, budget, and resources by value engineering the redesign. Creating an authentic environment while also finding economical solutions for the redesign was critical to the project’s success. Having in-house designers, fabricators, and installers at CIP, allowed the team to hit the mark and implement the desired look and feel quickly. Guests are now immediately transported into another culture the moment they step foot inside.

“We were thrilled to help the Enson Group transition from a seafood establishment to a Chinese Dim Sum restaurant,” said Tom Richardson, sales manager for CIP Retail. “They trusted our design team to do what was needed to create a space that was comfortable, inviting and authentic while keeping the budget in check.”

Key design elements included:

  • Wall-mounted signage repurposed with new vinyl graphics
  • New seating and lighting elements to match the new theme
  • Several large murals, printed and installed
  • Privacy screen installations
  • Wall-mounted bamboo boxes and wheatgrass planters
  • Installation of a wall-mounted zodiac calendar with removable tiles
  • Installation of vintage Geisha tapestries

“We came to CIP because we were familiar with their work. They helped us design our first concept. They are always professional and creative and understand how to stretch our budgets further without ever compromising on the design. They are true partners we can trust.” – Danny Fok, Owner of Enson Harbor Group

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Want to speak with one of our design experts? Contact us today.