Latin chicken chain’s new restaurants designed for American consumer

This is great video from Au Bon Pain describing where the brand is headed. We partnered with the bakery café to create an engaging and differentiating “marketplace” concept with a focus on giving the store more personality, distinction and improving the ease of shopping. Au Bon pain’s CEO, Sue Morelli describes the company’s focus on their three brand pillars and the importance of the environment and service to the brand experience.

The new concept gives the brand credit for the things that it does really well. We’ve created destinations for core competencies and we’ve made it easier for customers to navigate the experience, inviting them to buy more.

The new design is bright, welcoming and energized with color and comfort.Communication zones clarify the offer and enable customers to build their order with speed and convenience. The old pencil-and-paper sandwich ordering method is replaced with wireless devices. This new efficient system allows customers to maximize their dwell time in the space and explore the complete Au Bon Pain offering. New, deeper trays with handles enable customers to build their orders easily.

As someone who keeps his finger on the pulse of the QSR industry, I feel like the “breaking news” of McDonalds spending US $1 billion dollars to renovate its restaurants is so “2000-and -late!” Design and experience is something McDonald’s has been paying close attention to for some time. Way back in 2008, while doing global tours of QSR concepts, it was clear that McDonald’s had discovered that investing in the brand experience would pay off.

A visit to its freestanding prototype in Munich proved to engage customers of all ages with an innovative and comprehensive collection of experiences under one roof. The MacCafé space had a modern but friendly vibe with comfy seating, dramatic lighting, and even highly productive working space for those Wi-Fi squatters. A kids zone, with its whimsical décor and private party rooms created a place just for youngsters. Finally, the over-the-top play area appealed to kids and teens with a climbing structure, basketball hoop, and rideable video games.

In fairness to all the “other guys” McDonald’s has triple the locations of the number two burger chain and boatloads of cash. And these Taj Mahals are lab restaurants where many of the innovations will not be rolled out. What is impressive to me is that for an industry where speed of service and operations are such a laser focus, it is still willing to think creatively about the “front of the house” – in other words, what matters to the customer. Over the years it has been methodically exploring through prototype after prototype: What will make customers pass up Panera and the other fast growing fast casual players, in favor of a burger joint. Well, in case you haven’t noticed, McDonald’s is not a burger joint any more.

Great consumer insights, experience design, product innovation, brilliant marketing, all continue to evolve the McDonald’s brand. This is what keeps it on the right path and my guess is that it will pay for itself faster than the Wall Street pundits think.

During a recent business trip to London I had two very memorable dining experiences that shared an uncommon element—experiencing the kitchen before experiencing the restaurant!

The first restaurant, Belgo, was a mussels place that sat in the basement of an old stone building. You enter from street level into a small dimly lit room where you are greeted by a hostess who leads you down a long dark stairwell that take you straight to an expansive view of the kitchen. You see many chefs busily preparing mussel creations and get the sense that this is a place that takes food seriously and wants you to know it! The end feeling is that you are like a rock star who has some exclusive back door access from the proprietor that the rest of the world isn’t privileged enough to experience. The décor was authentic and utilitarian, the food was outstanding and the wait staff was knowledgeable and friendly, but that entry experience was the pièce de résistance!

Zizzi, the second restaurant, had a similar experience, except that you entered onto a mezzanine that allowed you to look down over the entire kitchen and restaurant. From above you could feel the bustling energy of the busy kitchen with its bright colors of food and flashes of fire that really opens your eyes wide and has you leaning over the railing to see more. The mezzanine was such that you had to walk twenty feet out over the restaurant then switch back to get to the metal curving staircase that leads you right to the hostess podium. Again, a total rock star feeling as the hostess is looking at you the whole time you are descending the stairs as though you are the only guest of the evening!

For years, the majority of cash at quick service restaurants has gone “through the window.” The growing car culture has dictated a focus on drive-thru efficiency to the point where the dining room has become an afterthought to operators and subsequently a barrier to customers.

The cost of updating and maintaining a dining room has seemed cost prohibitive to many QSR chains and their franchisees, especially in light of the high drive-thru ratio. But by not offering a unique, pleasant dining experience, they have let the brand image wither on the vine. And it’s now coming back to haunt them. I contend that the high drive-thru ratio is in large part due to customers avoiding the “ick” factor of enduring outdated, smelly, deteriorating environments with no sense of place or brand personality. The dining room is the brand.