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In the space at Tsunami at Highland, Tiek Byday designers used beaded curtains and water elements to reflect the restaurant's brand. PROVIDED PHOTO BY JACQUELINE MARQUE In the space at Tsunami at Highland, Tiek Byday designers installed a custom brass portal at the entrance that transitions and welcomes guests into the tranquil restaurant. PROVIDED PHOTO BY JACQUELINE MARQUE The interior of Superior Grill in Lafayette.
STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK The interior of Superior Grill in Lafayette. STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK Baton Rouge-based design firm Tiek Byday renovated The Lotus Lounge inside Soji on Government Street. PROVIDED PHOTO BY JACQUELINE MARQUE Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Almost everyone loves a good hole-in-the-wall restaurant .
Sometimes, though, the sensory feast of dining in a well-designed restaurant — where colors, lights, scents, acoustics and furniture play roles in the overall experience — is a treat for the senses. The interior design of a restaurant can elevate the mood, encourage conversation and influence how diners enjoy their meals. Every corner and every wall has the potential to tell a story.
"With any restaurant, bar or hospitality environment, the way that you design your space tells people who you are well before the food," said Scott Higgins, a Baton Rouge food and beverage specialist and owner of Blend Wine Bar. "There are 25 things that happen before the plate is in front of me that make me determine whether or not I like a place or not. Good design is a huge element in that.
" Scott Higgins, owner of Blend in Baton Rouge. First impressions start in the parking lot, where it's important for restaurants to offer ample space — something often overlooked or not even thought of as a design element. Inside, acoustics and music make an impact on the crowd and how long patrons linger.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the average noise level in restaurants is around 70 decibels. However, the ideal noise level for comfortable conversation is about 60 decibels. The National Restaurant Association recommends that music in restaurants be kept under 75 decibels.
At Gunshow in Atlanta, guests are seated at communal tables with views of the kitchen in a space where the food is elevated, but the experience is intense. Higgins said chef Kevin Gillespie creates a punk rock atmosphere with intentional decibels at 110 to 115 — about the same level as standing near a very loud power saw. "He (Gillespie) wants you to have an experience," Higgins said.
"When you go there, you do. You walk out, and you're like, 'I need a breath, but that was amazing.'" The sign for the bar at Superior Grill's new Highland Road location Higgins noted that Superior Grill on Highland Road in Baton Rouge is a great example of a space that hits all the points of great restaurant design.
For starters, the location includes a vast parking lot. Inside, however, is where the show kicks into gear. Design elements hit customers from all sides upon entering the space: nearly perfect lighting, upbeat music, colors, decorations and a variety of textures.
The restaurant's details are intentional — and that's the North Star for impeccable design. “As soon as you walk in, you’re like, 'This looks like fun.' It has this sort of party atmosphere to it," Higgins said.
"Mexican restaurants, in general, do a great job with color. It is always bright and colorful, and the energy always seems to be high. Obviously, margaritas help.
” The interior of Superior Grill in Lafayette. He added that the maximalist decor in all Superior Grill locations exudes warmth, making the restaurants feel like places where customers could stay for a while. Color was a guiding point in renovating Spoonbill Watering Hole & Restaurant in Lafayette, which was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2020 for outstanding restaurant design.
The space is located in a former 1939 Conoco gas station. Spoonbill partner Stephen Verret said the team wanted to keep the nostalgia of the filling station without modernizing the building so much that it lost the retro feeling. They landed on the roseate spoonbill as inspiration for branding and interior colors, as the gregarious wading birds range in color from mint green, dark gold, canary yellow and white to shades of pink.
Now, "Rosie the Spoonbill" serves as a mascot for the restaurant. Spoonbill Watering Hole & Restaurant was a finalist for the 2020 James Beard Awards for outstanding restaurant design. "Our initial goal was to make it feel like you were on vacation," Verret said of the design process.
"You step foot in the door, and you're enjoying yourself. It makes you feel like you're not in Lafayette. You can sit back, relax, enjoy yourself and not feel rushed.
" The vacation atmosphere then dictated the menu, which features many seafood dishes like grilled whole fish, crudo, spicy tuna nachos and broiled Gulf oysters. "Feeling" is something that Baton Rouge-based design firm Tiek Byday keeps at the forefront when their team begins planning a new space. Colors, textures and lighting work together to weave the narrative and create an immersive experience.
"With restaurant design, the most important thing to us is evoking a feeling. You want someone to feel something the moment they walk in," said principal interior designer Bridget Tiek. "That is our No.
1 thing, and there are so many different ways to achieve that. It's layered to have somebody feel something. It should really start with the entry sequence, from parking your car, to walking up to the building, to opening the door — what it looks like, as well as how you're greeted.
" The main dining area of The Colonel’s Club on Sept. 4. Tiek Byday recently renovated The Colonel's Club under the Perkins Road Overpass, but their commercial portfolio includes the Lotus Lounge inside Soji, Tsunami at Highland and Mother's Lounge.
When the firm meets with clients for a project, the first thing they ask for is a budget and inspiration, as a realistic budget determines many design elements. Then, location and functionality is discussed. Principal architect Hance Day Hughes says that, in a restaurant, design plans start with the kitchen.
"It all starts with the owner/chef, if they're working together, truly understanding their business model — and understanding what they cook and how they cook it," Hughes said. "The kitchen comes first in terms of a footprint and functionality because that should function exactly how they want it to, if they have the luxury of building it new or renovating it." A copy of the initial design sketch for the interior of Tsunami at Highland, designed by Tiek Byday in Baton Rouge.
The careful balance of function and ambience in a restaurant is of utmost importance to create a smooth workflow for staff and guests, which includes adequate space between tables, a flow of traffic from entrance to exit and clear pathways that minimize congestion. Hughes added that regulation and code requirements play a huge part in the practicality of a space. For example, restaurants must have fire safety systems and comply with building codes, including: Providing emergency exits; Using fire-resistant materials for walls and ceilings; Ensuring electrical wiring is safe; Having sturdy foundations and reliable support structures.
Principal interior designer Cindy Tiek said that many restaurateurs are realizing that maximum capacity doesn't always equate to comfort. "For a long time, that was the No. 1 thing people wanted — more people.
But, at the end of the day, if people are uncomfortable, then they're not coming back," she said. The landing strip area of The Colonel’s Club on Sept. 4.
Incorporating a variety of seating options helps to combat that discomfort, like adding larger, soft seating mixed with traditional dining chairs. The Colonel's Club is a great example of this, as there is booth seating, armed fabric chairs and rattan options. While designing Spoonbill in Lafayette, Verret said the pie-like shape of the building presented a challenge to find furniture that could withstand weight and use but was also sleek.
"We wanted to make the furniture almost disappear, to a degree," he said. "So, we made the tabletops the same color as the chairs, which blend it all together." Spoonbill Watering Hole & Restaurant was a finalist for the 2020 James Beard Awards for outstanding restaurant design.
A comfortable chair and large tables are part of Higgins' top three requirements for good restaurant design, as well as personal branding that tells customers who you are and a well-designed bar. When he consults on restaurants, he says that standard tables are often not big enough to fit the common dining scenario, including plates, drinks and waters — let alone bread and butter. "I think it lends itself to an uncomfortable experience for people, where you're basically trying to play Jenga on the table," Higgins said.
However, sometimes restaurants intentionally design a space to include small tables and chairs so that customers are in and out of the building at a faster rate. The building for Tsunami at Highland included a vast ceiling height and large interior. To combat the height issue, designers with Tiek Byday installed 900 brass pipes that hang from the ceiling in a three-dimensional waveform.
With Tsunami, Tiek Byday had the opposite design problem: the space included a vast ceiling height and large interior. To combat the height issue, the firm installed 900 brass pipes that hang from the ceiling in a three-dimensional waveform. Patrons are seated in the main dining room or in one of the smaller rooms that offshoot from the main hallway, which are cozier and more intimate spaces.
In the space at Tsunami at Highland, designers used beaded curtains and a custom brass portal at the entrance that transitions and welcomes guests into the tranquil restaurant. The details have a purpose..
