Restaurant Entrances Defined – The Front Door

As a restaurant architect, I have spent many years studying restaurant architecture and the various restaurant ideas that go into a successful establishment.  There are so many different elements that can determine success, it would be impossible to even list the full collection of ideas in a single article let alone discuss them all in a single article.  I want to focus here on just one element, the front door.  Below I will be sharing my observations as a restaurant architect on what makes a good restaurant front door, how customers interact with it and why it is important.  Now there are lots of different types of restaurants from bare-bones restaurants like a carryout only pizza shops all they way to full-service fine dining, but the principals of good design apply to all restaurants equally.  All restaurants share the same principals but not the same design.  Good design always starts with universal principals combined with the needs of the diners and the intent of the owner.  It is my firm belief that restaurant design is part of the marketing effort to the public.  No matter how talented a restaurateur someone may be no one person ca do everything, this article is designed clarify ideas for the food service professionals and help them work with their restaurant architect.  A front door is more than just the utilitarian thing that lets customers in and keeps weather out, it is a primary design element that everyone must interact with.

The first idea to consider about your entrance door happens before diners even get close to it.  Can you see it?  Can you identify it?  What visual message is it sending?  First and foremost the front door to your restaurant must be seen.  Place the front door where restaurant customers will expect it and be clear with your customers where they should come in and out. Many times restaurants that take space in strip malls will have 2 or more doors, because the building shell was not designed with a specific tenant in mind, remove these unused door. If a door is required as an exit remove the exterior handles and any other clue to potential patrons that this is an entrance.  Check the lines of site and identify where is the first place where the door can be seen, work with the design placing the door to make this distance as great as possible.  Once you see the front door make sure your customers can tell it is the front door without being told.  Some ideas for this is to make the door bigger than normal or make it a bright and bold color.  The door should give people clues as to what the inside of your restaurant will be like.  Restaurants front door should be more than just a door in a wall.  An architectural feature should act as a designation of entrance. This could be many different things, the door could be inset or pushed out, a canopy over the door could be provide or wing walls could flank the sides of the door.  You are only limited by your imagination.  Finally what visual message does the door send, make sure that the message is inviting and interesting.  To find this out look at the rendering of the door and ask yourself what emotions does this evoke in me?  Then show the design to others and ask them the same questions.

The second idea to consider is the door itself.  The customer sees the door to your restaurant, approaches it, reaches out, grasps it and pulls.  What do you want this experience to be like for your customer?  Describe the intended experience first and then select the door and hardware to fit that.  If your idea is to have your customers experience be clean and efficient, then a light and easy to open aluminum door with a simple round pull would be a good choice.  If your idea is to project a quite and comfortable dining experience to your customers a wood door with a large traditional handle might be in order.  If your idea is to project fun and excitement.  Then a shiny colorful door with a whimsical handle could be a good call.  You see how starting with the intended message helps define the design.

Of course the front door is part the the entire restaurant design and not just a stand alone thing.  This article if highly reductionist in nature by its very narrow focus on only the restaurant front door and ignoring the floor plan and everything else.  That being said, the front door is highly important and deserves this focus because it can’t be avoided by the customer, everyone must go through it coming and going.  The ideas discussed here are design principles and not an endorsement of any one product or style.  These design ideas should be applicable whether you are opening a restaurant just from a new idea or a re-branding effort of an existing restaurant.  Remember good design is good business.  I hope all restaurant professionals finds these ideas useful and helps them design smarter in their future restaurant design projects.  If you have an existing restaurant and find your front door lacking please take action based on what you have read hear.