Progress Pics on Gunshow

We touched base with Blake Morley (The Wrangler) last night regarding progress on Gunshow finishes. He was kind enough to share some photographs of the Georgia clay concrete stain and the beginnings of some paint.  Here are a few progress photos along the way.

It will be a minimal design, but perfectly appropriate for showcasing Kevin's vision and growing his concept.  Enjoy!

Newly rebranded Sports Grill - ai3 sources of inspiration

We have a presentation coming up this week for a complete redesign of a restaurant project.  It's a local favorite in and around Atlanta as well as in the southeast. This is more than just a renovation b/c the brand has refined their concept to more of a Sports Grill rather than just a sports bar. They have an amazing following of fans, both adults and families, and lovers of sports and great beer. So we went looking for some fresh inspiration. These are some of our favorite design influences....

 

Pictures from the Shop: Communal Concepts

Over the past week, we've received photographs from millworkers of two different communal tables we designed for upcoming projects. 

For Ink & Elm, the Olmsted inspired restaurant/bar in Emory Village, the table concept will serve both as the large dining table for the Private Dining Room as well as communal seating when the room is open to all guests. The design is inspired by an old drafting table, similar to what Olmsted had in his work studio. It features black mahogany legs, bleached, hand-scraped cedar top, along with a custom metal base.

The other bar-height communal table will be a focal point in the restaurant/lobby of the newly renovated Hotel Indigo Nashville. This multi-purpose communal table serves as a place to plug in your laptop while nibbling and working or for groups to gather during live, singer-songwriter performances.  The table features a beautiful walnut plank top with ebony stained, turned legs.  (Two power/communication boxes are flush within the top to support laptop use.)

 

 

 

 

ai3's design for Hotel Indigo Nashville coming along

The "neighborhood story," which influences ai3's design for the Hotel Indigo in downtown Nashville, is focused on Printer's Alley, the historical district located just outside the hotel's lobby windows.  The original building owner wanted to build his bank (the original building use) on the corner of Printer's Alley because of it's historical significance.

Had Nashville not become Music City, it could very well have been the printing capital of the world, with the majority of major publishers and newspapers located on Printer's Alley.  Printing machines and block-printing were a huge inspiration for our design team, as was Printer's Alley in the 1800s when it became a speakeasy "Men's District" for a mix of local businessmen and politicians.

Take a look at our progress! (Design renderings on left and construction photos on right)

 

Registration Desk w/Letter block wall

 

Dining Area and Communal Lounge

Banquette Cubbies

Bar Area with Ceiling Canopy.

 

Live Music Lounge for Singer-Songwriters

Gunshow- ai3 & Kevin Gillespie... Here we go!

It's official.  We got a permit from the city and are ready to begin construction on Gunshow with Chef Kevin Gillespie. Whew.

Unlike anything ai3's done before, we are in a creative partnership with Kevin, challenging our process as much as he is challenging his.

Here is a video of the first of many Vision Sessions we will be having with Kevin, Blake Morley, and the rest of his team.  Typical to all of our kick-off meetings, we gathered in our studio to discuss our goals, measures of success, what the buzz will be, program needs, aesthetic preferences, what staff will wear....

Challenge: How do you design a space for a new restaurant model?  Check out the first of our Vision Sessions. 

Our space, as captured by Blake on Day One. 

Lucky for me, this is 2 blocks from my house, so I will publish our progress, along with Kevin.

ai3's Dan Maas, "Leveraging FLOW" in Sante magazine

Recently published in Sante, a magazine for restaurant professionals. www.isantemagazine.com

"The Leverage of Flow: How to Harness Flow & Intimacy for a Better Guest Experience." - By Dan Maas, Co-Founder and Principal at ai3, Inc.


When talking about the flow of a restaurant, most restaurant experts focus on the physical flow of food to the dining room floor. While food flow is critical in restaurant design, so are several other aspects of flow, including timing, pace, and communication between the chef, kitchen and service staffs, and guests.
Good design should infiltrate all aspects of a restaurant, but, most importantly, it should enhance the guest experience. This involves orchestrating many moving parts, all centered on creating positive social interactions around food and drink. Here are a number of tips to help foster these interactions, while still allowing a restaurant to funcion efficiently.

TIP 1: Design for the Director
The host/greeter plays the role of "cruise director," yet is often overlooked in restaurant design. When guests arrive at a restaurant, that seemingly normal greeting experience is actually the point where they elect to become an active participant in the restaurant's flow, allowing the host or greeter to lead the way.
A good host will always have an eye on the kitchen, as well as the dining room and the bar. To do so, he/she should have visual accessibility to the entire restaurant. Coordinating the flow between the dining areas and the kitchen requires continual contact between the host and the chef to ensure that no guest is waiting too long in one location and that the kitchen can always handle the order load.
Also, the host is typically the first and last impression of the dining experience. This poses many design questions. For example, can the host station be seen from outside the restaurant, allowing guests to connect and interact with the dining experience before actually entering the space? Is the host station adequately lit for the task, and does that lighting add to the overall restaurant experience? Does the design level of the host station reflect the design concept and mission of the restaurant?

TIP 2: Create One Flow with Many Options
The repeat guest is king, and the restaurant design should play a part in enticing guests to return. To that end, flow and circulation throughout the dining spaces should allow guests to easily discover all the available seating and dining options, including the bar, chef tables, private and semi-private rooms, communal tables, intimate booths, counters, patio and outdoor dining, and so forth.
This creates more opportunities for connecting guests to the vision of the restaurant, and gives them the sense that they have only experienced a small portion of what is available. If guests understand whay they are missing, they will make a mental note to return and try something different at a future visit.

TIP 3: Manipulate Flow for Intimacy
In some situations, lack of physical flow is acceptable, even desired. In a restaurant with a thriving bar scene, for example, a crowded bar is the goal. To achieve this, your designer should realize that tight spaces are okay. Saying "excuse me" forces interactions, both with the staff and other guests. Lively, crowded restaurants and bars promote conviviality, which in turn feeds their success.
The design and flow of the bar presents numerous opportunities to reinforce social interactions. The bar should have as many outside corners as possible, as guests gravitate to them in order to speak across the bar with other patrons. While some long, skinny spaces do not cater to outside corners, gathering nodes along a bar can serve a similar purpose.
Close quarter dining, such as communal tables and banquettes, also encourage social interaction. Unique design elements, textures, artwork, and accessories around such areas become objects of conversation among guests and generate specific buzz about a restaurant. Here, tight flow is an advantage.

Developing our Neighborhood Story- Oxford Hotel Indigo

"The Way to a Man's Heart is Through his Stomach"
- By Ethan Lewis

Concurrently nicknamed "The Literary Center of the South;" as well as, "The Little Easy," Oxford Mississippi is The Magnolia State's prized possession.  A cultural jambalaya of freaks, geeks, Greeks, and jocks, Oxford is home to some of the best seasoned stories we have heard in a while.  Knowing how serious we take our food, our stories, AND our road trips, ai3 embarked on a journey through the heart of the South landing to the last notch of the bible belt on the other side.

Just a few shady skips from Oxford's prized "Square", lies the Downtown Oxford Inn, a hotel that will soon be churned into a cornucopia of story and style as a Hotel Indigo.  ai3's design of this new hotel will be inspired by the few that locals know by name and go unnoticed in plain sight by out-of-towners, these behind the scenes faces are the driving force of what makes Oxford, Mississippi so rare and tender. It is our team's interviews with these dedicated locals, each with their own story to tell but sifted together from small town ties, where the design of the Oxford Hotel began to thicken.

Long-haired lawyers in shorts, bookstore DJs, and celebrity chefs led us down a tree-lined path into Oxford's pealing past and how the small town fumed and then cooled, and quickly flourished into a robust Southern mecca of art, music, literature, and film.  The reoccurring chime of the arts, like Oxford ringing a dinner bell and yelling, "Creativity is Ready!" caught our attention, and we came running towards it, hungry for more. Stuffed five deep in a booth, an unspoken unanimous decision was made over a table full of beer, wine, and dishes kin to Oxford, that we would pursue each of these artistic ingredients as literal themes for spaces throughout the hotel.

Uncle Tupelo led to Wilco, police officer turned blacksmith, movie theater by night and music venue by late night, Oxford, MS is a representative for change and a breeding ground for culture.  We began to paint a picture that you won't get from reading any Faulkner novels, nor cheering at any Ole Miss football game -- like The Grateful Dead standing next to Ronald Regan, the funky underside stood next to the three-piece suits and exuded their own concoction of respected free-spirit, and became a small southern town with conscious development. As this recipe for growth, change, and culture was passed on by front porch rocking chairs; festivals, film makers, musicians, and artists fled to Oxford for a glass of the fresh fragrant cocktail. Finding this unexpected parallel between the way ai3 cooks up ideas and the way that Oxford, Mississippi writes recipes, was all we needed to put the cherry on top of our design inspiration.

 

Full from the days before, but hungry for more, we graciously thanked our wonderful host and client, Luke Chamblee and The Chamblee Hospitality Group, for some of the heartiest laughs and most fun we have had in a while.  Sizzling with excitement, we loaded up the Dodge Caravan and made our way back east with design on our minds and Oxford in our rearview.