Dining With Style A restaurant design company’s principals know that for many of their clients, it’s not just the food that keeps their customers coming back for more. By JACQUELINE FOX Staff Reporter About a year ago, Robert Mandler, founder and chief executive officer of the popular Chin Chin restaurants, took a look around the dining room at one of his six locations, two of which are in the San Fernando Valley, and saw the writing on the wall. The stark white-tile floors and clean, crisp, bright interiors that were cutting-edge design when he created it nearly 20 years ago had grown stale. “We used to be hip, but we lost that edge,” Mandler said. It was time to warm things up a little, bring the look and feel of his interiors in line with changing trends in the marketplace. “What we wanted to do was make our restaurants a little more hip,” Mandler said. So he called Ron and David Lieberman. Ron Lieberman is the founder and CEO of Agoura Hills-based Design Development, an interior and exterior commercial design firm that focuses primarily on the restaurant market. Leiberman started the company in Tarzana in 1983. His son David came aboard in 1990 and is now the company’s vice president. Together, the two work to give their clients what they refer to as the “wow” factor. Those clients range from smaller eateries, such as the Johnnie’s NY Pizzeria chain based in Sherman Oaks, to high-profile themed restaurants like the 500-seat Hard Rock Caf & #233; and adjacent theater at Universal Studios CityWalk in Orlando, Fla. Design Development has also overseen renovation projects for large hotels, including the Hyatt Wilshire in Los Angeles and El Tovar at the rim of the Grand Canyon. In the case of Chin Chin, the Liebermans had something to work from. But for new restaurants, sometimes a design concept begins with nothing more than a conversation with the aspiring restaurateur and a few rough sketches. Often, said Ron, the clients don’t know what they want. But after nearly 20 years in business, he does. “I call up what I like to refer to as my third sense,” he said. “I can sit with a client and within two or three minutes I can say exactly what it is they have in mind. About 85 percent of the time I’d say we hit the nail right on the head.” It’s an approach that appears to work: Design’s revenues for the first year in operation were just under $500,000; in 2000 they were $3.9 million. Lieberman expects revenues will come in close to $4.1 million for 2001. One challenge, said David, is to look ahead and envision a concept that not only addresses what the client wants today, but will also be relevant tomorrow. Mandler is spending roughly $60,000 on each of his six stores to subtly transform the chain, not revamp it from top to bottom. He expects the project to be completed by early January. “I characterize it now as an evolution rather than a revolution and (Design Development) gets that,” said Mandler. “Some designers have a problem with their egos. These guys understand that the most important thing is giving what their client wants.” Carpeting will replace the white tile floors, and the walls will be repainted with earthier color schemes. Even the employees’ uniforms and menus are changing from white to black and the restaurant will get a new logo. So, what’s the shelf life for a restaurant makeover? “It’s about five years,” said the David Lieberman. “But even after five years, sometimes all that’s needed are a few minor adjustments. It’s not always necessary to remodel from scratch.” Even in tough economic times restaurateurs have to often bite the bullet and make upgrades. And, while they will typically want to make those changes on tight budgets, their demand for something new and exciting never tapers off. While some restaurant patrons remain loyal for a while, most are often on the lookout for something new and a remodel is one way to make the same old same old seem new again. “The challenges have (been) and always will be creating an environment that not only supports the clients’ concept for the correct budget, but brings on the sales that the client or customer is looking for,” said Ron. But fortunately, making extravagant changes isn’t always the best recipe for success. Ron said, “For example, we could go in and do gold-plated walls, but that’s not necessarily what’s called for. Instead, we may just create special lighting fixtures, or subtle changes to the color schemes; the types of changes that the client and the customer are going to feel comfortable with.” Sometimes a little fiction works. When a new owner took over Johnnie’s NY Pizzerias a couple of years ago, the Liebermans created a fairy tale about the history of the six-store chain that was more intriguing than the simple account of a routine business exchange. The challenge was to stay true to the old-world concept but cater to the constantly changing likes and dislikes of the mostly young clientele that patronizes pizza restaurants. “We created a story line for that project which essentially said this is a mom-and-pop shop with an old-world Italian couple at the helm, and two younger sons about to take it over,” said Ron. Again, Design Development opted for subtlety: new lighting fixtures, some changes in art and artifacts, and a softer pallet for the interiors. Design Development Core Business: Commercial restaurant and hotel design Revenue in 1983: $500,000 Revenue in 2000: $3.9 million Employees in 1983: 3 Employees today: 12 Goal: To grow revenues and create exciting spaces and experiences for clients and their customers. Driving Force: Restaurants that must constantly upgrade their images to remain competitive.