I.

RESTAURANT ARCHITECTURE
Restaurant Architecture focuses on developing concepts and designs for a
restaurant. It is to create a set of architectural documents that shows the design
intent, how the restaurant should be built based on all available and applicable
design codes including building, accessibility, and egress. Restaurant
architecture also focuses on the circulation of customers, circulation of orders,
and the comfort of all the staff and clients.
Architects has seven ways to transform the restaurant design from plans to
reality.
A. MANAGE THE CONSTRUCTION TEAM
When clients are looking for an ultimate design team, the
following can be added along with the architect, engineers and general
contractor:
1. COMMERCIAL KITCHEN CONSULTANT
A Commercial Kitchen Consultants designs and assists in the
implementation of all the equipment in your restaurant’s kitchen.
2. INTERIOR DESIGNER
An interior designer will help you bring the vision you have for
your restaurants design to life; they’re especially adept at
weighing out a design client wants and what customers want.
3. COMMERCIAL FURNITURE VENDOR
Commercial Furniture Vendors, consults on which furniture is
best for your restaurant concept and implements you’re agreed
upon design
4. LIGHTING CONSULTANT
A commercial lighting consultant helps you decide and design
which restaurant lighting is best for your space.

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 5. ACOUSTICAL CONSULTANT
An acoustical consultant specializes in installing acoustical
ceilings, walls, and the like to make sound travel best in your
space
6. MILLWORKER
Different from a carpenter or contractor, a millworker
specializes in designing and installing any wood products that
come from a mill – doors, molding, trim, wood paneling, crown
molding, etc.
7. GRAPHIC DESIGNER
A Graphic Designer will create all of the design assets you
need to market your restaurant, including your logo, promotional
materials, and content for your social channels, etc.
8. WEB DEVELOPER
A Web Developer will consult on, design, and code your
website.
B. PICK THE PERFECT LOCATION
Selection of location for a restaurant have so many factors.
These factors are the following:
1. The address;
2. The area around the location;
3. The building aesthetics;
4. The size of the space and the shape; etc
C. UTILITIES and SERVICES
At the middle of the planning and designing, the Architect will
work closely with the engineers to review the plans to make the
construction successful. Not only the circulation and the spaces are
given a focus, also the utilities, the location, and the sizes. This utilities
are the following:
1. Electrical Power;

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 2. Water;
3. Sanitary and Grease Waste;
4. Gas Service;
5. HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Condition);
6. Hood ducting, venting, make up air;
7. Fire Alarm System;
8. Sprinkler System, and the like.
D. THE LEASE
A lease outline drawing is a mapped out floor plan of the space
and will show the “lease line”, the lease line determines your leasable
square footage, which is what your rent should be calculated on. Having
a lease outline drawing will also help you anticipate any zoning or
licensing laws you may come up against when building your restaurant.
E. BUILDING CODES
Egress codes outline many ‘means of egress’ – ways of
existing – a building must have for those inside to use in the event of a
fire. There need to be a certain number of means of egress in a room,
which is based on the room’s square footage; these means of egress
will also need to be a specific size, based on the room’s dimensions.
Accessibility codes are the requirements a must space must
fulfill to be considered wheelchair complaint; examples includes
installing a ramp adjacent to any customer-facing stairs, making
hallways a certain width, and ensuring flooring materials don’t impede
wheelchair wheels.
F. EQUIPMENT LAYOUT
Operational efficiency isn’t the only factor to weigh when
visualizing and planning your kitchen equipment layout.
Based on the potential layout stands, the different kitchen
stations and their proximity to prep, storage, and ware washing may be
ideal, but the restaurant architect points out that the BOH still needs a
manager’s office, employee lockers, and space for a water heater. They

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 also find that the layout has noncompliant dead ends and egress paths
that are too narrow.
G. CREATE A DESIGN THAT SUITS THE CLIENTS RESTAURANT
TYPE
The restaurant type will affect the restaurant design. It is
important to identify what type of restaurant will be designed based on
the clients wants for his/her business establishment. Identifying the type
of the restaurant will help the owner to successfully cater the needs and
wants of their clients or customers.

II. TYPES OF RESTAURANTS

Restaurants have different types of concepts where an architectural client
can choose from. Before designing a restaurant, we, as an Architects must
answer the following questions first in order for us to identify the needs and wants:
(1.) Who’s your audience? (2.) What is your price range? (3.) Are you thinking of
formal or casual? And (4.) Do the owner have a particular type of food in mind
that they can build a brand around? Listed below are the types of restaurant that
we can choose from:
A. FAST CASUAL
Fast casual restaurants are one of the hottest trends today
which is a slightly more upscale and more impressive compared to fast
food. This type of restaurant offers disposable dishes and flatware, but
their food tends to be presented as more upscale, such as gourmet
breads and organic ingredients. Open kitchens are popular with fast
casual chains, where customers can see their foor being prepared.

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B. FAMILY STYLE DINING
This style is also known as casual style dining in the United
States. This type of restaurant offers moderately priced entrees from
menus featuring a mix of classics cuisines, individualized with signature
sauces, dips or other toppings. Casual style dining can be any number
of themes, from barbecue.
Casual style restaurants offer table side service, none-
disposable dishes, while still keeping the menu moderately priced.
Inexpensive, low-key setting.
C. FINE DINING
The term Fine Dining brings to mind all kinds of images, from
crisp white tablecloths to waiters in tuxedos. Fine dining, just as the
name suggests, offers patrons the finest in food, service, and
atmosphere. It is also the highest priced type of restaurant you can
operate. Fine dining restaurants are usually are unique, even if they are
owned by the same person or company.
D. CAFÉ OR BISTRO
A café is a type of restaurant that does not offer table service.
Customers order their food from a counter and serve themselves. A café
menu traditionally offers things such as coffee, espresso, pastries, and
sandwiches. Cafés originated in Europe and are strongly associated with
France. They are known for their intimate and relaxed atmosphere.
Outdoor seating is another trademark of a café. A bistro is similar to café
in that that food is simple, basic fare served in a casual setting. However,
where a café may only serve coffee, bread, and pastries, a bistro may
offer entire meals.
E. FAST FOOD
Fast food is the most familiar restaurant to most people.
Chains like McDonald’s and Burger King became popular in the 1950s
and helped spawn countless other concepts like taco bell, KFC, and In-
n-Out Burger. Fast food service attracted customers for its speed,

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 convenience, and cheap prices. Fast food restaurants are typically
chains.
F. FOOD TRUCK
A popular food trend across the country are mobile food truck
restaurants. The benefits of food trucks include low cost and low
overhead, making it one of the easier ways to open a new restaurant.
Other advantages of a food truck business include its mobility – it can go
to where the customers are. It also requires far less staff. However, a
food truck is still a business that requires a lot of work and attention –
especially in the first couple of years. Read more about starting a food
truck business.
G. RESTAURANT BUFFET
Around since the Middle Ages, the buffet-dining concept has
stood the test of time and continues to be a popular choice for many
restaurant customers.
With its definition, a buffet is a meal where guests serve
themselves from a variety of dishes set out on a table or sideboard.
Restaurant buffets are one type of restaurant concept that includes self-
service and catering services.
H. POP UP RESTAURANT
Like food trucks, another growing trend in the hospitality
industry is pop-up restaurants. According to the national restaurant
associations, what’s hot survey, one of the biggest trends for 2012 was
a pop up restaurants. While popular now, pop up restaurants are not a
new concept.
They originated as supper clubs in the 1960s and 1970s.
Today’s pop-up restaurants have many different looks and functions.
They can appear in an unlikely place, such as an old warehouse or
building rooftop. The allure of the pop-up restaurant is the minimal
investment of both time and money.

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III. RESTAURANT INTERIOR DESIGN THEMES
Restaurant interior design themes varies on the restaurant style used in the
construction. It depends on what is the taste or wants of the architectural client,
what theme of interior design will attract more customers, and the type of
restaurant.
Choosing an interior design themes for a restaurant gives importance to
how will the restaurant will look like with a certain theme used? And how the colors
used in the theme does can affect the guests? And what interior style will give a
profound impact to the customers?
Implementing a new and unique style of interior design can help bring in
more guests to the place and boost profits. The following are just an examples of
interior designs and themes for a restaurant:
A. COMMUNAL EATING
As we shift away from take-out and meal kits, customers are
searching for dining experiences enhanced with a more social
atmosphere than ever before. That’s why communal eating spaces are
on this year’s list of top design trends. Offering open tables and shared
spaces amongst strangers creates a unique social atmosphere perfect
for those looking to engage with both the food and each other.

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B. OPEN KITCHEN
With a rise in demand for more transparency in restaurants,
it should come as no surprise that open kitchen concepts are on the rise
in 2019. Customers want to see, hear, and smell for the minute they step
through your restaurant’s doors as a part of the overall dining
experience.

C. BUSINESS THEMED RESTAURANTS

From coffee shops to fine dining bistros, businesses are
beginning to introduce restaurants into their existing space. Not only is it
a way to combat the rising price of rent, but incorporating a social space
into your business gives customers a reason to stay longer and relax.
Common business types looking to incorporate restaurants into their
space include banks, large retail locations, and movie theaters.

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D. HYGGE AND COZY ATMOSPHERE
Hygge (pronounced HYOO-guh) is a Danish word and
concept, and it doesn't have a direct translation to English, but it roughly
encompasses the feeling of cozy contentment. The hygge trend has
blown up recently, and it's finally starting to spread to the foodservice
industry. Some restaurants are attempting to make their dining spaces
feel cozier, inviting, and hygge by using candles, warm and rustic
elements, and comfortable furniture.

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IV. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RESTAURANT INTERIOR
Even in Architecture, psychology applies. Psychology is the scientific study
of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given
context. It studies the mental characteristics or attitude, the mental and emotional
factors that affects a person or a group.
In a restaurant, the thinking behind the bar, playlist, tabletops, menu,
hostess desk, and everything we see, hear, taste, and smell are being studied
using psychology.

A. SENSUAL PLEASURES
The best pleasures engage all our senses, and good
restaurants aim to do the same. What we generalize as ambience, they
distill to minute specifics. Those butter-gold walls that seem like a dining
room staple? It’s not due to an industry paint color discount or the
owner’s sunny disposition. “Warm colors are stimulants,” explains
Stephen Zagor, dean of business and management studies at the
Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, noting yellow, red, and
orange. “Appetite suppressants are pale green, blue, and purple.”
Another stimulant: smells. “They turn us on more than any of our
senses,” he says. “We have an emotional attachment to smells—think
baking bread or wood smoke.” If a restaurant doesn’t emit them due to
kitchen venting, it can purchase them; Zagor cites technology that allows
scents to be infused into the air. A less pricey option: those silver plate
domes lifted in front of you at haute-cuisine temples. Leave it to the
French, those sensualists.
Lighting—how it hits the walls, the tables, the floor—is the
most important design element, Zagor states. For all the times I’ve had
to hold my phone screen up to a menu, I’d agree with Raimundo Gaby,
associate professor of business management at the Culinary Institute of
America, who says, “It’s the first thing that the industry does poorly.”

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 Acoustics are the second, Gaby claims, citing forced
conversation as the need to soften noise levels. And, while we’re on the
subject, what about that background (or, often, foreground) music? “The
tempo and type is gauged to the customer base,” says Zagor. “The
thinking is: The faster the music, the faster people chew.”

Many designers have no experience working in restaurants,”

Gaby says. “The aesthetics prevail.” Zagor concurs: “Many designers
want their artistic moment. But practicality has to be built in to the
design. Sometimes their artistic statement isn’t practical.”

Acoustic practicality is relative. I’ve heard it again and again

from the experts: What some call noise, they call “energy.” Says Gaby:
“It forces people out of their comfort zone.” Zagor agrees. “People like
the energy of being crowded.” Ira Grandberg, AIA, of Grandberg &
Associates Architects, the architect of Mount Kisco’s tri-level, posh
Winston, agrees: “The bar in the open atrium area provides energy, and
it provides a central gathering space, allowing for interconnectivity for
all three levels.” And Purdy’s Farmer & the Fish Co-Owner Michael
Kaphan agrees too: “It’s the sound of people having a good time.”

Keith Treyball, president of ESquared Hospitality (parent

company of BLT Restaurants), says the White Plains location, BLT
Steak, has a partially open kitchen that “provides energy, enlivening the
dining experience.” Pearl Restaurant Group President Jim Sullivan
says, “Energy drives all our restaurant decisions.” He notes that it lends
extra frisson: “We don’t mind if customers have to wait a little bit.”

It’s how all these elements converge that either makes or

breaks the space. And those elements, as anyone who’s ever
undertaken a renovation knows, take money, time, and, above all,
analysis. There’s the aesthetics—décor, ambience—and then there’s
the nuts and bolts: traffic flow for both customer and staff, bar
placement, restroom proximity, and server stations—even hostess

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 desks; the current trend is not to have a hostess desk, to remove all
barriers to the customer’s inclusive experience. “The best restaurant
design,” says Gaby, “is a collaborative effort between the operations
people and the design people.”

B. TRAFFIC ALERT
For Pearl Group’s Jim Sullivan, once the space is
determined, his first question is how flow and energy (there’s that word
again) will work. “Everything starts there,” he says. New construction, as
opposed to renovation, can make integrating the two easier. Case in
point: Sullivan’s Rye Grill and Bar. “It’s a huge two-level space with a lot
going on at once,” he says. “We have to get you in quickly and serve you
quickly, so flow for customer and staff is crucial.” The solution was to
design for a varied customer base. The large main area is geared toward
families; the smaller side room is carpeted for a placid ambience; and
the upstairs caters to the adult patron. “The restaurant works well
because the flow works,” Sullivan says. “It’s a busy place, and without
good flow planning we couldn’t handle the business.”

Mount Kisco’s Winston was designed with two entrances, at

the front and back, each directing customers to the central atrium.
Entering through the rear, from the parking area, is no less inviting. “The
corridor leads you past the glass-walled pastry kitchen, which is a visual
enticement,” explains architect Grandberg. “It’s a controlled sequence
for bringing people to the central atrium, the heart of the restaurant.”
Once they’re there, a staircase can carry patrons to the other levels,
each offering a different ambience.

Grandberg and Sullivan had it easier than Thomas Juul-

Hanson, architect for Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Inn at Pound Ridge.
Bound by the 19th-Century building’s landmark status, the renovation
took two years. “We wanted people to feel the soul of the place, the

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 magic when they walk in,” says Vongerichten. That included directing
them from the foyer into either the main dining room or down a staircase
to the cozier space near the rear garden. A Juul-Hanson associate
describes it as setting up a sequence of dining experiences. The kitchen,
Vongerichten points out, was installed on an intermediate level, enabling
convenient access for the waitstaff to both dining areas.

At Peekskill’s Iron Vine, Co-Owner/Chef Gabriel Arango

faced similar renovation issues. Constrained by the historical building’s
narrow space, a comfortable traffic flow was critical. “The room narrowed
toward the back and felt confining,” he says. “So we elevated the ceiling
in the rear to create vertical space.” And then there’s the bar. If a river’s
natural flow is to the sea, a restaurant’s is usually to the bar. Iron Vine’s
bar is 17 feet long and curved. “We wanted the room to feel cozy, not
cramped, so we curved it for easier access and more table room.” The
curve, he adds, “allows your eye to take in the entire space.”

The bar/lounge at The Inn at Pound Ridge is an elegant hub

leading to the main dining area. Winston’s bar placement in the central
atrium, Grandberg says, provides community and (yup) energy.
ESquared’s Treyball considers the bar “the launch pad into the dining
room.” For his BLT brand, often situated in hotels, strategy
encompasses an additional customer base. “We need to appeal to the
solo diner, so we have soundless TVs at our bars.” he says. “Sports
programming drives bar business.”

C. ID REQUIRED
All restaurants begin with a question: Who do we want to be?
And a follow-up: Who do we want our guests to be? Location and
construction costs are obvious determinations, but it’s with the answers
to those questions that the concept is born. Without them, it dies.

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 Pearl Group’s Jim Sullivan knows. He’s opened seven
thriving restaurants in Westchester and Connecticut, including Morgan’s
Fish House and Elm Street Oyster House. “Restaurants fail because
they have an identity crisis,” he says. “They don’t know who they are.”
To discover it, they need a map: the menu. It may meander a bit as plans
evolve, but it’s the key—the “X” that marks the restaurant-success spot.
“Great design begins with the menu,” says the CIA’s Gaby. “It dictates
everything: equipment, décor, traffic flow. It’s the heart of the business.”
And the brain, directing through sight and touch the experience that
awaits. We register the menu’s typeface, font, and pricing, but there’s a
textbook of subliminal messages at work: the menu’s texture, size, heft,
and composition. “The menu is the cradle from where everything
comes,” says Zagor of the Institute of Culinary Education. He lists it as
one of the pillars of design, the others being service, ambience, food,
and unique selling proposition: Why are people coming to you?

D. THE ANATOMY OF A MENU

The experts agree: The menu drives business —and the
direction is profitability. Here, the menu for Armonk’s Moderne Barn
provides some road signs.
Leaving out the dollar signs “softens” the prices. Currency
reminds diners they’re using money, and may increase the chance
they’ll order solely based on price rather than on ingredients or what
sounds most appealing.

Boxes, or, as the industry calls them, “eye magnets,” draw

the eye, so that’s where you’ll often find high-profit items.

Warm colors are stimulants: Red provokes our appetite and

yellow, our attention. They’re the ultimate design couple.

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 Price equals pain, so the less noticeable the better. No
zeroes either, just the necessary, plain digits. Listing the price in the
same size type as the menu item makes it less conspicuous.

The more description, the more we associate quality.

Adjectives maximize the allure of an item, and even let us mentally taste
it.

The more choices, the more stress. Seven items or fewer in

a category is comfortable; more than that is confusing, so we may order
something familiar instead of a new—and possibly more expensive—
dish.

E. INTO THE ATMOSPHERE

For most of us, what drives a dining decision, after cuisine,
is ambience. Intimate, elegant, hip, rustic are generalities beneath which
a thousand details lurk. There’s lighting, materials, furniture, art. Oh, and
us. “People go to restaurants to see and be seen,” says Grandberg, who
intended Winston’s central staircase as theater as well as transport.
“They want to be voyeurs without feeling intimidated. It’s a herd instinct.”
And what we’re herded to is comfort, vibe—what Vongerichten calls
“magic.” It’s the intangible that every restaurant strives for, the brass ring.
For Winston, that’s the communal experience of three visually
accessible dining options. For BLT, it meant softening the traditional
men’s club steakhouse aesthetic with a neutral palette to appeal to
women.
But these days, the brass ring tends to be caught by
nostalgia. In the era of instant gratification, it seems that when we want
to kick back, its way back—19th Century back. We yearn to take cover
within reclaimed brick walls and beneath rough-hewn beams, to preserve
our sanity with historic preservation.

The examples are numerous. Vongerichten worked his

magic with The Inn at Pound Ridge’s original planked flooring, timbers,

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 and fieldstone, modernizing them with streamlined chairs and a sleek,
underlit bar. Purdy’s Farmer & the Fish conjured a New England fish
house with wainscoting-like shiplap walls, single-pane windows, and
white marble tabletops.

At Iron Vine, Gabriel Arango honored Peekskill’s industrial

past with locally reclaimed rafters, copper, and iron. The list goes on: the
Livanos family’s Moderne Barn, where horse photos and wood-paneled
walls pay homage to the building’s predecessor, the Yellow Barn furniture
shop; and New Rochelle’s relocated Modern Restaurant & Lounge,
which, paradoxically, employs subway tiles, lights that look like gas
lamps, and original moldings. Even Winston, with its modernist atrium,
steel railings, and sweeping voyeur’s stairway, was planned to suit Mount
Kisco’s urban pedigree with the use of brick, cornices, and woodwork.
“The design is modern but anchored in tradition,” Grandberg says.

V. RESTAURANT LAYOUT AND DESIGN GUIDELINES

Designing a restaurant floor plans involves more than rearranging tables.
The restaurant layout both supports operational workflow and communicates your
brand or products to customers.
A good floor plan can streamline your restaurant operations when it’s
connected to the point-of-sale (POS) system.
In designing restaurant, we as an Architects, we should consider the
following:

A. CONSIDER THE PRIMARY SPACES IN THE RESTAURANT FLOOR

PLAN
We have primary spaces to consider in a restaurant’s floor
plan. We should arrange these elements properly to give comfort to
customers and even to the employees. These spaces include the
following:

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1. The Kitchen
In most restaurant floor plans, the kitchen takes up about
40% of your space. This might seem like a lot for a space that patrons
never see, but it’s the heart of your business. It’s important that you
start here on your restaurant floor plan so you don’t shortchange this
area.

2. RESTROOMS
If you can place restrooms near your kitchen area, you
can save money by tying into nearby plumbing and water lines.
Depending on the size of your space, it can be a good idea to add a
staff-only restroom and changing area, too.

3. BAR OR COUNTERTOP AREA (OPTIONAL)

A bar or counter service area can be a great addition to a
restaurant space, even if you’re not a bar or quick-dining
establishment. It provides a comfortable waiting area if space is tight
and adds popular counter seating for casual dining concepts.

4. THE DINING AREA

This is the comfort zone of your restaurant floor plan.
Adequate seating and traffic flow are the two most important
ingredients in this space. After that’s established, you can apply
design elements that communicate your concept and brand. Your
goal is an inviting, comfortable space that pulls patrons in and makes
them want to return.

5. THE ENTRY & WAITING AREA

Your entry is the billboard for your restaurant. It should
communicate your concept and entice passers-by to enter. Once
inside, the greeting and waiting areas depend on the type of

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 establishment. For fine and casual dining, this area needs serious
consideration if you have wait times. For fast dining and cafe
concepts, this space can be minimal, especially if you have a bar for
counter service.

B. PLACE AND PLAN THE KITCHEN SPACE

Your kitchen placement and workflow plan is the most
important element in your restaurant floor plan. If this doesn’t work,
neither does your restaurant. It’s that simple. That’s why the kitchen is
the first element on your list. Total Food Service magazine suggests that
30% to 40% of your space should be allocated to your kitchen to allow
adequate food prep, cooking, server pickup space, as shown below:

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1. Assembly Line Commercial Kitchen Layout
This commercial kitchen layout provides 3 distinct areas
for food production. It moves raw foods through a series of parallel
stations from prep, cooking, and plating to server pickup. This setup
tends to keep staff within defined workspaces with less movement
between stations. (see picture at the next page)

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2. ISLAND COMMERCIAL KITCHEN LAYOUT

An island design allows more staff movement and

supervision between stations than a parallel assembly line setup. All
cooking equipment: ovens, grills, fryers are centralized, and the other
work areas line the perimeter, effecting a circular flow for food
production. This layout works well in a larger operation, but can also
be effective in a smaller operation where staff needs to move among
prep and cooking stations to cover multiple kitchen roles.

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 3. Zone Commercial Kitchen Layout

Like an Island kitchen layout, a Zone design can allow for

more staff movement and supervision between stations than an
Assembly line kitchen plan. With ample server access to both prep
and cooking zones, this can be a good setup for a restaurant that
cooks only a portion of its menu and uses prep to produce uncooked
foods. This kitchen workflow can be adapted to a variety of kitchen
shapes and sizes, so it’s one to consider if you have limited space.

C. PLACE RESTROOMS IN YOUR RESTAURANT FLOOR PLAN

Restrooms should be accessible, but separate, from the
dining area. Having a restroom door that adjoins a dining area isn’t a
comfortable situation for anyone. In the restaurant floor plans below,
you’ll see the restrooms are adjacent to the dining areas but do not open
directly onto the dining room. This type of setup is convenient for all. (see
picture at the next page)
It’s a good idea to consider restroom placement after you’ve
identified your kitchen space in your restaurant floor plan. Placing your
restrooms near kitchens can save you money on your plumbing by tying
into nearby lines. If that’s not feasible, you’ll have to completely plumb

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 this area, so place your restrooms carefully. This isn’t an element that’s
easily moved about the space.

Finally, don’t be stingy with restroom space. Your patrons will

remember a bad experience in this particular area. Restrooms should be
roomy, not tight and cramped, and fitted with easy-to-clean fixtures and
finishes.

D. PLACE A BAR OR COUNTERTOP AREA IN YOUR RESTAURANT

FLOOR PLAN (OPTIONAL)
Bar or countertop dining areas can be a great addition to your
restaurant floor plan. If you haven’t considered one, you should if space
allows. It’s a more profitable use of space than a large waiting area since
patrons can order drinks while they wait. Plus it creates small-footprint
dining space since diners expect less elbow room at a bar than they do
at a table.
For placement, a bar or countertop that shares its back wall
with the kitchen works very well, especially in small spaces. That lets
you tie into your existing plumbing for bar sinks, plus you can add a
pass-through window to the kitchen for a diner, cafe-style coffee house,
or bistro restaurant concept.

E. PLACE AND DESIGN THE DINING AREA IN YOUR RESTAURANT

FLOOR PLAN
Your dining area (or dining area plus bar or counter) should
use around 60% of your restaurant floor plan. Within this space, you
have many table style and placement options. What you do here really
depends on the type of dining concept you’re operating.

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Here are general rules-of-thumb for planning your seating space and traffic flows:

Restaurant Floor Plan Space Planning – Suggested Area per Diner

Dining concept Square feet per-person

Fine Dining 18-20 square feet

Full Service Casual Dining 15-18 square feet

Countertop Diner or Bistro Service 12-15 square feet

For table spacing, hospitality experts recommend the following space allocation based on
occupied chairs:

Restaurant Floor Plan Space Planning – Table & Chair Spacing

Unit Space between each

Occupied chairs 18-20 inches

Tables set in parallel 42-60 inches between sides

Tables set in on a diagonal 24-30nches between corners

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RYAN R. BELTRAN | 18-08853 | DESIGN 3 | BSAR 2ND YEAR
 F. PLACE AN ENTRY AND WAITING AREA IN YOUR RESTAURANT
FLOOR PLAN
The last place we cover in your restaurant floor plan is the
first place your patrons see. Yes, your entrance is every bit as important
as the other areas in your floor plan covered above. But it’s last on our
list because most experienced restaurateurs work from the back-of-
house (kitchen) forward when designing a restaurant floor plan.
This back-of-house to front-of-house design approach
ensures that you don’t over-allocate space to the entrance, waiting, and
dining spaces at the expense of your kitchen, which is always a mistake.
Only after defining your kitchen and dining spaces in your restaurant
floor plan should you allocate space for your waiting area. For cafe,
bistro, and diner concepts, your entrance can be minimal, especially if
you have a bar or countertop where patrons can wait.
If you need defined wait space up front, plan this area to allow
traffic flow in and out, and accommodate seating if at all possible. A few
comfortable chairs work, but bench seating against the wall can be a
better use of a tight space. And, if it works in your location and climate,
adding outdoor seating to your wait space can be a good idea. A few
patio-type chairs or benches can do the job with style.

VI. CONCLUSION
Your restaurant floor plan dictates the workflow of your entire operation,
from kitchen and dining areas to customer amenities like waiting areas and
restrooms. In restaurant design and layout, every element has a purpose and there
should be no afterthoughts.
Experts agree that the first area to identify in your restaurant floor plan is
your kitchen. Allocating about 40% of your total area to the kitchen is a good rule-
of-thumb. Next, ensure that your kitchen space can accommodate a smooth prep,
cook, plate, and serve workflow. An assembly-line approach is recommended for
most establishments running a crew. After that key step, other spaces can be

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RYAN R. BELTRAN | 18-08853 | DESIGN 3 | BSAR 2ND YEAR
 placed into your restaurant floor plan and you can start working on the visual
appeal, both indoors and out.
Designing restaurants is not only about the aesthetics because the most
important in designing restaurants or any establishments that will be used by
people should also be comfortable and not irritated. The color must be pleasant to
human eye, the circulation for organize job, the lighting and we should organize
the space provided based on the design guidelines.

REFERENCES:

https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/restaurant-architect
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/2374/top-restaurant-design-trends.html
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/different-types-of-restaurant-concepts-2888698
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychology
http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/August-2015/The-
Psychology-Of-Restaurant-Design/
https://fitsmallbusiness.com/restaurant-floor-plan/

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RYAN R. BELTRAN | 18-08853 | DESIGN 3 | BSAR 2ND YEAR