brief: interior design for a restaurant and lounge bar

Formerly known as Branaghan's Bar and Restaurant, The Grill at Twenty Five was originally built to partner the nearby Jarvis Ramada hotel in Long Eaton. Although initially very successful the themed restaurant was in decline by the time it was sold in late 2010. What was needed was an injection of fresh restaurant design ideas to kick start business, break with the legacy of the past, and create a venue capable of operating independently of the hotel.

From the outset Design CLD worked closely with the new owners to develop the right strategy for developing the under performing leisure business. The result demonstrates how the application of good design can sit close to the heart of a project shaping ideas to ensure success.

Apart from the captive audience in the hotel, the restaurant needed to target three distinct markets: Passing trade from the M1, The local community of Long Eaton, and destination business for special occasion meals.

Our approach to the project

It seemed natural to exploit the venue's memorable location just 2 minutes drive from junction 25 off the M1. It also made sense to highlight the specialisation in grilled food. These two factors combined to generate "The Grill at 25" a strong and coherent brand identity with a classic car inspired theme.

The existing interior decoration was high spec but also tired and out of date and the large building, capable of seating 130 people at any one time lacked warmth and intimacy. To address these issues a radical transformation was needed. The restaurant area was split in two - each given their own dedicated entrance, the two halves being separated by a wall of folding doors.

This allowed us to concentrate the available budget on the high spec bar diner design and in the other half of the building create an eye catching conference and wedding venue design that could also be used as a breakfast bar for the hotel. The two halves could be reunited on busy nights simply by pulling back the folding doors. This flexible solution allows the venue to be used as a breakfast bar, function room, wedding venue, and music venue, as well as showing televised events. There is also the option to extend the restaurant in peak times if the function room is not otherwise occupied. Managed wisely the choice of options can be varied to optimise the profitability of the building.

The design scheme for the restaurant draws on the classic car theme to create a stylish and restrained interior. Buttoned upholstery, red and cream leather combine with chromed bar fixtures and hand rails to create a feeling of the hey days of british motoring. The theme is carried through in british car print wallpaper from Cole and Son and complemented by a series of evocative framed prints of classic sports cars.

The result

The restaurant is inviting and intimate, customers can have a full sit down meal or equally feel free to drop by for a casual drink in a relaxing and informal setting. Fueled by good design and driven by a strong management team the business enjoys over a hundred covers an evening, and with only 12% of that trade coming from the nearby hotel, the fledgling restaurant is well set to accelerate into the future.