Why a Brand’s Redesign Journey Should Vary by Market
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by Sarah Jenkinson, Director of Design at Harrison
Restaurants offer people the opportunity to share culinary and cultural experiences to make lasting memories with friends and family. The Fogo de Chão offers its guests a unique culinary experience that goes beyond a traditional restaurant ambience and is inspired by the southern Brazilian hospitality and the culinary art of the churrasco – the slaughter, simple seasoning and roasting of high-quality pieces of meat over an open flame.
Curating cherished moments for guests remains the focus of every restaurant. Restaurants need to stay true to the same brand DNA and guest experience, but they need to be able to adapt to their surroundings in order to stand out in each of the markets they serve. At Harrison, we develop designs that tailor a brand’s vision to a specific market so we can convey a sense of find anywhere.
Fogo de Chão hired Harrison to create an inviting, warm, and timeless design for its newest flagship in Coral Gables, Florida that reflects the Brazilian hospitality for which the brand is known. As Fogo’s trusted design partner, we’ve worked to improve all areas including interior design, architecture, staff uniforms, logos and packaging. We understand their 40 year rich history and were determined to show Fogo’s roots at every step of the guest’s journey with new design elements including Brazilian artwork, deep accent colors and rich upholstery textures.
In addition to a Fogo restaurant, the Coral Gables location will feature The Butchery and Next Level Cigar Lounge, two new Fogo destinations in the US, to offer guests an upscale experience that embodies the brand’s core values, butchery and Brazilian hospitality , uses. The restaurant will feature mixed indoor and outdoor use with natural wood surfaces, dramatic chandeliers over a vaulted ceiling, towering wine boxes, and dry-aged meat cabinets for in-house aging.
Guests at The Butchery can enjoy a glass of South American wine and sausages while consulting Fogo’s experienced butchers – their gaucho chefs – about the best cut of meat, which is then freshly sliced and packaged for grilling at home. Bottles of South American wines, artisanal cheeses, and other Brazilian-inspired foods are available at the butcher’s table or for purchase. Each butchered item is packaged with a custom seal that gives a feeling of ceremony when the items are unpacked at home, as well as a menu card with video links showing a cooking demonstration by the Fogo chef.
The innovative style of the new flagship in Coral Gables serves as inspiration for all other future Fogo restaurants. Much like the uniqueness of the curated dining experience at Fogo, the design of each location is tailored to the aesthetics of the surrounding community. Fogo’s upcoming move to Austin, Texas, on the corner of Congress and 2nd Street, features a striking design with panoramic views of the city. Upon arrival, guests will see warm pendant lighting, a modern bar area, an open-air churrasco grill, and a next level rooftop lounge. The location pays homage to the Austin landscape, adding local authenticity and community appeal to the restaurant.
In keeping with Chicago’s metropolitan aesthetic, Harrison was tasked with creating a standout, basic building design for the upcoming Oak Brook location at the intersection of Spring Road and 22nd Street. Key design elements include a timeless loft-style entrance, high architectural ceiling elements, dry-ripened meat cabinets, extensive wine displays and an open terrace with fire pits for al fresco dining.
We meticulously analyze every guest trip and design features that fit every market. Since no two Fogo de Chão designs are alike, guests have even more reason to visit different locations and make their own personal discoveries each time. Through storytelling, textures and details, we put the guest at the center of Fogo’s design elements.
More information is available at https://www.harrison.hn.
Sarah Jenkinson is Director of Design and leads Harrison’s global design team. Jenkinson has over 21 years of experience in global design practice around the world, designing spaces in retail, stadiums, hospitality, leisure and workplaces. In addition to her work on Buttercup and Fogo de Chao, she has some iconic branding experiences for the LEGO Brand Store and downtown Orlando, ODEON Leicester Square, Aquascutum Regent Street London, Arsenal FC, Ascot Race Course ‘On 5 ′ restaurant and the Regeneration. designed the London Olympic Stadium.
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