Restaurant Theme: How important are first impressions?

According to Lane Cardwell, author of the chain restaurant article "First Impressions" on www.chainleader.com (see citation for exact address), One of the most important things a restaurant can do is make a good first impression upon entrance. This is why I think it is extremely important for these restaurants to maintain a particular theme to allow themselves to be set apart from the other chains.



As mentioned previously, Chilis specializes in a "tex mex flair" added to regular American cuisine. I believe this theme is read quite successfully in their menu items and restaurant design. The front sign is a burning red fluorescent Chili atop the name of the restaurant, and this theme carries through into their elaborated decorated Chili menu. However, the theme is lacking in actual restaurant decoration. The walls were not overloaded with nostalgia as many of the other restaurants (Applebees), generally are. There were sparse plants and antique items. The few pictures which were on the wall had nothing to do with their tex mex theme, they were portraits of old sports stars and random people. I think it would be highly appropriate and helpful for Chilis to encorporate their text mex theme into the design. I think both bright colors (reminiscent of Mexican restaurants), as well as similair decorative items would help interpret the theme more.


In Paradise bakery, the decorations were kept to a minimum. The walls were earth toned creating a calming effect for the patrons. I think that, since they have not adopted any specific niche as with Training Table and Chilis, this is appropriate for the decor. However, I think it would also be helpful to add some visual entertainment for patrons to observe while they are dining. There was no visual stimulus to speak of present on the walls. The only decoration in the restaurant was a fancy menu board offering the items for sale. Since this restaurant does cater partly to a dine-in crowd (as whitnessed by their extensive seating), I think it would be helpful to provide some kind of decoration for the patrons to look at. I got the feel that Paradise was trying to convey a local feeling to their decor, so it might be nice to offer the wall space up to local artists so that they could display their work and tie the restaurant into the community.


In regards to Training Table, they have worked very hard to be a restaurant focusing on the "self serve" burger station. However, their indoor decor does not reflect this theme. The walls are cluttered with random sports memorabilia, which is confusing to the patrons as it has nothing to do with the overall theme. I found the bolts of colorful tapestry hanging from the ceiling to also be a bit distraction to me while I ate. The fabric design was a little too reminiscent of a Casino and did not encourage a pleasant dining experience. I think it would be appropriate to add a decor that related back to their "self serve" theme. Whether this means wall art that feature different artistic renderings of burgers from all around the world, or even different images of their sandwhiches, I think it would be more appropriate than random nostalgia.

This is an example of tex mex flair from a smaller restaurant. Though the walls are filled with nostalgia pieces, they at least are relative to the theme.