Riscala Agnese Design Group

The Psychology of Restaurant Interior Design, Part 2: Scent

You may have heard it said somewhere that you never really know the smell of your own kitchen. That’s fine if you’re a homeowner, but it’s a very different case if you run and/or manage a dining establishment. Scent, as a component of restaurant interior design, can influence not just diners’ opinions of your business, but also their spending habits.

Why Scent is Important
Smell is the most primal of our five senses; that is, smell is the most basic and primitive method of collecting information from our surroundings. As soon as your nose detects a smell, it triggers the olfactory neurons in the upper part of your nose, sending electrical impulses to a part of the brain called the olfactory bulb. These impulses are then passed along to surrounding areas, collectively known as the limbic system. The limbic system plays a major role in regulating mood, memory, behavior, and emotion. It’s also widely regarded as the primitive part of the brain, because it has been found in the brains of the very first mammals.

Scent, Memory, and Emotion
The sense of smell is very closely linked to memory, probably more so than any of our other senses. Think of certain foods you’ve eaten a lot as a child. If your mother often baked a lot of bread, passing a bakery may bring you back to afternoons spent in the kitchen of your childhood home, triggering happy, comfortable memories. On the other hand, you may hate broccoli today because its smell reminds you of all those battles of will waged at the dinner table. Any bakery owner worth their salt knows this: It’s why many bakeries are laid out similar to retail stores, with bread lining the walls and propped up on tables. Not only will the loaves tempt you with their beautiful, burnished surfaces, their aroma will also surround you. Many bakeries will even have burlap sacks of flour lying around for that homey effect.

The advantage of a bakery over a mere bread store, of course, is the smell of bread as it bakes in the oven.

Freshly baked bread evokes feelings of warmth and comfort. Image: Bourke Street Bakery

There are many scents that trigger similar responses in most people. Lavender, for example, relaxes the brain. Vanilla and chamomile reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Citrus and peppermint increase alertness.

There are many scents that trigger similar responses in most people. Lavender, for example, relaxes the brain. Vanilla and chamomile reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Citrus and peppermint increase alertness.

Crazy BBQ, Kiev. Image: Homedit

Using Scent in Restaurant Interior Design to Create Mindset and Behavior
Those silver plate domes you often see in movies depicting fine dining restaurants? Not only do they keep the food clean and create a sense of mystery and surprise, they also allow the food’s smell to build up and concentrate. As soon as the waiter lifts that dome, the scent of your food hits you in the face with its full strength. Cinnabon actually strategically places ovens near the front of its stores so the scent of baking cinnamon rolls can lure customers in. There’s also a good reason that Starbucks doesn’t allow people to bring in strong-smelling food. For a while, they even stopped serving sandwiches because they overwhelmed the smell of coffee.

Starbucks, Japan. Design: Kengo Kuma and Associates. Image: Masao Nishikawa

Scent is Worth the Investment
If buying restaurant scents sounds outrageous to you, it’s worth noting that the right smells can increase food sales up to 300%. According to a study by the University of Paderborn, scents increased impulse buying by 6%, buying intention by 14.8%, and the length of a customer’s stay by 15.9%. An open kitchen design is another solution. Because there are no walls that separate the kitchen from the dining area, the smells from the cooking food will waft freely over to the diners. There are other benefits to this, as well: Providing patrons with a behind-the-scenes view makes the atmosphere more personal, and conveys a sense of transparency. Having fewer walls also makes the restaurant appear larger and more airy.

An open kitchen design is another solution, with many benefits besides scent. Image: Anders Husa

Sources:
Modern Restaurant Management
Westchester Magazine
The Wall Street Journal
REIMA AirConcept
Business Insider
Fifth Sense
Psychology Today

The Psychology of Restaurant Interior Design

Part 1: Color

Restaurant interior design is a precise science that aims to tap the diner’s every senses just right. Successful restaurants know exactly who their target clientele are — it’s how they’re able to conceive and build a carefully engineered experience around their needs and desires.

Sight is almost always the first means by which you gather information — and make judgments — on an establishment.

Restaurants know this, and they take great pains to use it to send the right information.

Color, for example, is a powerful tool for influencing customer behavior.

In restaurant interior design, the color wheel can be divided into three sections, according to its effect on appetite: Strong Stimulants, Mild Stimulants, and Suppressants.

1.) Strong Appetite Stimulants

If you’ve ever thought that almost all restaurants use red in some form or shade in their design scheme, well, you’re not imagining things. It’s a well-established fact that red is the most effective color in stimulating the appetite.

Why is this? Red is abundant in nature, and the brain’s reptilian response to it is a carryover from the days when our ancestors were still hunters and gatherers. Red, especially bright reds, would usually signal energy-dense, sugar-packed fruit or vegetables.

That couch, though. Image: Aubrie Pick

Orange and yellow are also appetite stimulants. Yellow is associated with happiness, which is usually associated with a full stomach. When you see yellow, therefore, your brain secretes serotonin in anticipation of the food you’re about to eat.

Orange, on the other hand, elicits feelings of warmth and comfort — emotions that are also tied to the security of an abundant table.

2.) Mild Appetite Stimulants

Green and turquoise are mild stimulants. You might argue that green should be a strong stimulant because many leafy vegetables are green, and you’d be partly correct. Green signals edible, benign, non-poisonous plants. However, these plants are merely fibrous, not sugar-packed like most colorful fruit, which provide a jolt of energy.

These days, green is also associated with health. This is unsurprising, given that, again, most green things are fibrous and don’t have sugar.

3) Appetite Suppressants

Lastly, black, brown, purple, and blue are appetite suppressants. Research suggests that this is because these colors don’t exist in nature — that is, not in the form of food.

Long ago, blue, black, and purple also signaled something that was either rotten or poisonous, which our ancestors learned to avoid by sight. Like our brains’ response to red, orange, and yellow, this is also a carryover from those days.

The Opposite House Hotel, Beijing. Image: Kengo Kuma and Associates

An Interview with Fadi Riscala and Michelle Agnese

An interview with Fadi Riscala and Michelle Agnese
Principals, Riscala Agnese Design Group, New York

From overall concept development and graphics to kitchen planning and interior design, Manhattan designers Fadi Riscala and Michelle Agnese like to be involved in every aspect of their restaurant projects. Their work may be recognizable, but never predictable. These designers always meet whatever the menu of the moment calls for, with custom elements both artistic and mechanical, creating inspired spaces that people feel good in.

Riscala, who emigrated from Beirut in 1983, received a degree in interior design from Michael Graves College School of Architecture. He started his career with Q5 and was approached in ’96 to independently design his first restaurant, introducing Riscala Design as a professional design firm. With the addition of partner Michelle Agnese in ‘99, Riscala Agnese creates some of the most imaginative spaces, with a range of budgets and styles, and sometimes helping neophyte restaurateurs from concept to completion. Here, the designers talk about the secret to a successful partnership, the advantages of being constantly curious, and of course, restaurants.

Q: What do you like about designing restaurants?

RA: By nature, designers are hungry for change, which can be an uncomfortable place. There is a constant call for fresh ideas and approaches in restaurant design, so it’s well within our comfort zone. What we’re saying is, we’re most comfortable being uncomfortable.

Q: You love to see a concept through…logo, interior, music selection, menu design…why is it so important to you to get your hands on every aspect?

RA: The strength of any brand or concept comes from the continuity and consistency of its message. Restaurants are no exception. It is all about an overall statement, coming from one single breath. If we could be the chefs preparing the food as well, we probably would. From a practical aspect, limiting the number of parties that are involved in the overall process saves the client time and money.

Q: Where do you like to start conceptualizing?

RA: We try to get to the root of our client’s intended concept by asking a lot of questions, to establish solid ground from which to start designing, rather than pulling from anything too obvious or superficial. Once we define the intended concept, the specific feel and level of design is driven by the target group and the budget.

Q: What’s the secret to a great partnership?

FR: Embracing your differences and celebrating your similarities. As long as the similarities outweigh the differences!

MA: Respect for one another with no egos that get in the way is important to keep things moving in the right direction. But the natural dynamic between who we are as individuals enriches everything we do as a team. A common objective for the overall vision of our company and our projects is of utmost importance.

Q: What’s the secret to a great client relationship?

RA: Becoming truly part of the client’s team rather than just a ‘hired designer’; possessing a true sense of care and concern for the end result, putting your personal or professional interests aside, and working as an integral part of the collaboration, where the project benefits from each individual bringing something meaningful to the table.

Q: What was your big break?

FR: Being given the chance to design the very first restaurant, with not much of a portfolio to show and design fees that at the end of nine months averaged far below minimum wage. The feeling after the end result was exhilarating, and addicting.

MA: What would probably be considered as a ‘big break’ by most is that we were hired to be the designers on a new Food Network series. But after shooting two episodes, we realized that what was driving us was not the TV aspect of the show, but the design challenge at hand. For us, our brief involvement with the show offered more of a revelation than an actual ‘big break,’ returning to our own design world with a renewed sense of self, and a hunger to sink our teeth back into some serious restaurant projects. We have connected with some really amazing people both in the city and out, and have many very exciting projects on the boards.

Q: What’s the most important thing to remember when designing a restaurant?

RA: The end user’s psychology (which is not necessarily that of the client), the timeline, and the budget.

Q: What projects are on the horizon?

RA: A restaurant in Miami for a long-time NYC client, several restaurants for another loyal client in CT, and a new modern fast-casual concept here in the City, among others.

Q: Dream project?

RA: Something not entirely real, more surreal, so our imagination is not limited by a specific practical use. Although, it would be really interesting to see how the public then uses whatever it is we create. In the real world: Stephen Starr’s next restaurant.

Q: Greatest lesson learned?

RA: Something that you learn quickly when you own your own design business is that the design industry is as much about ‘business’ as it is about ‘design.’ Not only for our own business, but also for that of our clients. On the other end, it’s not about what you know; it’s about what you’re willing to find out. Curiosity goes a long way in this business, or in any business for that matter. Design is problem solving, and to effectively remedy any problem, you have to really learn about where it originates.

Q: Biggest challenges in the hospitality industry today?

RA: This industry has gone through drastic changes in the past decade. Shifts in budgets and timelines through ups and downs have required us to adjust our services to accommodate many different circumstances. But we are agile, and able to keep up. We are constantly stretching our minds to push the limits with materials and methods, in order to achieve the most possible, with whatever we are given. Remaining interested in whatever capacity we are involved and executing as much as possible ourselves has been a huge benefit.

Q: Trend you are paying attention to?

RA: The trend of ‘avoiding trends’ yet to remain current. It’s a fine line. Trends in fine art and fashion have been influencing everything, so that’s an interesting place to look for inspiration.

Q: When you are not at work, where can we find you?

MA: Working somewhere else! We have a hard time ‘turning it off. We do a lot of indirect research, strolling the sidewalks of New York, seeing what’s new, what’s old, what’s good (and what’s bad). We find a lot of inspiration throughout the city, always looking to mature our minds and our eyes. Beirut, Fadi’s hometown, is also a place that we visit whenever possible.

FR: Wherever Michelle is.