Designing to Stand the Test of Time

How We Create restaurants to be celebrated year after year

To achieve ten years or more of success in the restaurant business is monumental.  Owners have to juggle and tackle thin margins, labor issues and rising costs as well as stay relevant against rising competition with creativity and changes to the menu and offerings.

And then there’s the space itself, which is a big part of getting guests to return again and again.  From the original design to updates to a full refresh, there is a delicate balance to achieve fresh and exciting while maintaining a timelessness that guests can connect to the business. This is one of the key reasons why Shea never designs a space to meet current trends.  Attention-getting patterns, colors and details may give a big buzz when you’re new, but they don’t wear well over time.

While we previously outlined when to refresh a restaurant, we wanted to further dive into our philosophy on the original design and how to tackle the updates – specifically focused on restaurants that have become so loved and rooted in their communities they’ve become a celebrated fixture. Looking at Spoon and Stable, Crave and The Hilltop, our partners have demonstrated how the right design approach, paired with well-timed refreshes, can achieve long-term, ten-year plus success and stand the test of time.

Spoon and Stable

November 2024 marks a decade of the award-winning Minneapolis restaurant’s success. Actually, success is an understatement when watching Spoon and Stable popularity grow year after year. Owner and Chef Gavin Kaysen and his team first partnered with the Shea team more than 10 years ago to embark on finding a location then designing the brand and space for his homecoming restaurant, transforming a what was once a 1900s horse stable into the now iconic Spoon and Stable. Chef Kaysen and the team earned instant recognition for the restaurant, including winning a James Beard award, that only continued to grow over time.

The original design and brand were based in timelessness, combining warmth with subtle sophistication and highlighting the natural assets of the space. And as seasoned operators, Kaysen and the team maintained a working partnership with Shea to ensure the space was maintained and tuned-up as needed. Then a year before the tenth anniversary, Kaysen and the Spoon and Stable team engaged with Shea to lead a restaurant refresh. Chef Kaysen understood the importance of showing care to guests and staff alike by using the 10-year milestone as an opportunity to reinvest in the experience at Spoon and Stable, and that meant freshening up the space.

When a restaurant is as celebrated as Spoon and Stable, the answer as to how to refresh the space after 10 years is simple: subtly. Subtly add to the design in ways that enhance the celebrated experiences without removing any of the character and touchpoints that people have come to love. For Spoon and Stable, this meant:

While the changes were subtle, together they made a big impact. Spoon and Stable reopened with an overwhelmingly positive response to the fresh atmosphere (while most still saw the same restaurant space they had come to love), ensuring their award-winning levels of hospitality for many more years to come.

Crave at the Galleria

The original Crave, now part of a ten plus restaurant collection, opened in the upscale Galleria in 2007 and was going strong with its original Shea design. But after almost 20 years, the collective Crave and Shea team decided to take a different approach to refreshing their space, making the most sense for the future of the brand: a complete renovation.

Since the start, the ownership group Kaskaid Hospitality sought to push the boundaries on what’s new and adventurous. When our partnership began in 2007, Shea worked with the team to create the Crave concept with a strong design from branding through interiors. The restaurant featured bold red colors with warm accents, heavy fixtures and rich patterns – definitely adventurous at the time.

In 2023, when we engaged on the refresh, Crave again pushed for new and adventurous, and Shea’s reinterpretation included:

• • Opening up the space with airy fixtures, a lighter overbar and removal of the wine wall

• • New flooring, furniture and finishes in subtle, muted color tones

• • Updating the floorplan to incorporate new booth and banquette seating and re-orient the space and seating to better accommodate guests

• • Using a bright yet neutral color palette with pops of teal drapery and lush greenery

• • Creating a new focal point to frame the chef’s table with a custom wicker booth

Although the furniture, color palette and aesthetic shifted, the boldness at the heart of the brand continues to show through in the design, further establishing Crave’s connection with guests.

The Hilltop

In 1978, Ken Johnson opened The Pantry, an Edina malt-shop destination. Twenty years and a liquor license later, the team rebranded the eatery as the popular Eden Avenue Grill with the addition of a small bar. Approaching the next 20-year mark – or 40 years from the original ideation – the team was ready for the next chapter of the Edina eatery. This time, celebrating not only a new era for the restaurant but also a new generation of family leadership with Brett Johnson joining Ken at the helm.

The Johnson family partnered with Shea for the refresh, going beyond the design of the restaurant and revamping the name and brand to have a greater reach in the Edina neighborhood of today and looking to the future. The goal was to maintain their current customer base while also tapping into the younger crowd and families in the area. The full brand refresh included:

The fresh design solution introduced a modern atmosphere and brand, paid tribute to the multi-generational success in the same location and offered areas that appealed to the original core audience as well as younger residents and families.  The Hilltop avoided getting stale and kept the history, heritage and soul, and they have enjoyed incredible success as a result.

Spoon and Stable, Crave and The Hilltop all ultimately shared the same goal: to continue offering the highest level of service and experience as they celebrated business milestones. To reach that goal, Shea partnered with the three restaurants to refresh their spaces with three very different approaches using solutions built upon their concept, experience, growth plans and market. The end goal might’ve been the same, but the how looked completely different between the three restaurants – from subtle enhancements to a whole new brand – and would be unique to any celebrated restaurant seeking a refresh.

It can be easy for restaurants to slip into complacency as they become loved fixtures in their community. But, as shown by our partners, a fresh perspective shows care to guests and staff that invites them to become a part of the future and truly stands the test of time.