Restaurants Can Be Saved Through Design, Says David Rockwell

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Even in good times, restaurants operate on slim margins. Owners battle unmanageable rents and struggle to pay meager wages, as much of their venue’s real estate sits unused for hours every day. Now that diners are threatened by airborne pathogens, management is finding the spaces difficult to keep sanitary—if they’re open at all.

Bloomberg Pursuits asked the Rockwell Group, renowned for designing such destinations as New York’s Nobu 57 and the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, to share a vision of the future that solves these structural problems—a multipurpose hub that’s economically and environmentally viable. In these renderings, the restaurant serves as a community center, grocery, and educational space during the day. At night, diners sit down to eat indoors, and various components can be rearranged for privacy and distance in the midst of communality.

“Restaurants of the future will be more flexible,” says founder David Rockwell. “A model like this reinforces the French root of the word ‘restaurant,’ which is ‘restore.’”

Daytime

A multifunctional market and community space can help ensure profitability during off-peak hours, as well as employ more people.

Small, automated, and modular food-growing beds are stacked into long, thin walls throughout the room. Such vertical gardens would allow the restaurant to raise leafy greens, herbs, and edible flowers indoors, providing chefs with a year-round supply of fresh ingredients to further reduce costs. Additional rooftop gardens and apiaries can further expand urban farm production. Any surplus could be put into meal kits or sold separately.

These hydroponic green “walls” (1) also serve as lush, movable room dividers that can expand or contract seating areas as needed.

Restaurant/shops like these will also offer a selection of cheeses, charcuterie, baked goods, and other products from local artisans, either in a spacious grocery (2) or via a pickup window (3). Rotating specialties can entice shoppers at a streetside kiosk (4). QR code menus and mobile ordering will minimize server interaction. Outside of wait-service hours, outdoor tables facilitate grab-and-go dining.

In the back of the dining area (5), space can be converted into a classroom or a meeting-style forum where wellness, nutrition, cooking, hospitality—really anything—could be taught.

Nighttime

A host greets diners at an outdoor station (6). Just beyond, low bench seating and cafe tables surrounded by greenery provide a peaceful place to wait and avoid crowd buildup in front. Attractive sanitation stations (7) with sinks demonstrate an attention to hygiene. (In this future, the pandemic has passed, but restaurants are better prepared for potential health issues.)

Inside, with the green walls rearranged, the layout is now oriented around a central show kitchen (8) that’s tucked behind sliding glass doors. This adds a bustling air at quieter dining times and reassures guests about the business’s operating practices. A series of flexible private-dining spaces (9) surrounds the kitchen, so guests still feel part of a communal experience while being physical separated. Carts in each dining nook bear hand sanitizer, clean silverware, and napkins, and can be easily rolled to prepare tables that turn over.

A counter spanning the kitchen accommodates pairs and solo diners. The periphery is kept clear so people can circulate easily. Bathrooms (10) feature automatic doors and touch-free fixtures.

Window walls that pivot out onto the street blur the boundary between the outdoor patio seating and the interior. Ventilation is further assisted by high-efficiency mobile air filters that move around the restaurant to reduce particulates.

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