Columbus Monthly / September 2012 / Jennifer Fredritz - Dining by Design

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Jennifer Fredritz - Dining by Design

Jennifer Fredritz, creative director at WD Partners, is an eager student in the science of what she calls “Brand Souls”—the heart and soul of a restaurant.

“People can connect emotionally to a flavor of a sandwich,” Fredritz explains. (A pop quiz for you: Panera’s “Brand Soul”? Easy: Bread.)

A restaurant whisperer of sorts, Fredritz takes tools such as signage, menu boards, environmental graphics, floor plans, materials and finishes and mingles them into a recipe that will make us open a door of a restaurant and immediately think: Grandma, and then: meatloaf.

What do you love about your field?

I feel like the idea of enjoying food is so fundamental to daily life. It’s nice to feel like the work we’re doing is benefiting someone—especially if the restaurant has really good food. I love that storytelling, the unfolding of that story all around food. At the heart of it all, that’s what every restaurant is trying to do.

Can restaurants tell a story with tools other than words?

Everything we do is about trying to appeal to the emotional side of the person. It’s the collective touch points that the person takes away. It’s a combination between the colors, materials, words on a board, lighting, the sensory aspects.

We use circulation of the space to make sure we’re guiding the customer along. Visuals you see on the wall. Flavor of the food. It’s so many touch points.

So what emotion are we supposed to feel in Bob Evans?

A sense of home. A sense of familiarity. You know what food to expect based on the feel of the place. It’s comfort food.

Do you have a favorite restaurant design in Columbus—something you haven’t worked on?

Northstar Cafe and Piada are the two golden children of Columbus, Ohio.

At Northstar, I love the architecture, the restaurant design and the message around the food. The design is very modern, with large community tables. There’s visibility into the kitchen. Even the way they dress, they’re projecting, “We are foodie people. We hold the craftsmanship and flavor to the highest regard because it’s so important to us.”

And then there’s Piada. Very modern with a simple, simple menu. The whole design is around that menu. The first thing you see is the piada that they put right in front of you on that griddle. It’s very Chipotle-like.

It has authenticity, but because of the simplicity of the environment, it doesn’t feel like an advertising agency designed a bunch of stuff. Where you have the customers focused is on the ordering experience.

So what is a restaurant trying to communicate when it utilizes barn wood and old-fashioned light bulbs?

Right now, there’s a trend around authenticity. Everyone wants to create this authentic, genuine experience. These old-fashioned light bulbs harken back to the past, “when things were done right” or “crafted.” We’re seeing that not only in food, but in how the restaurant design comes about.

You’ll see it in light fixtures that look old-fashioned and you’ll see it in materials with wood and natural finishes. It’s in signage. Fonts and embellishments that look like hand-painted signs.

And chalkboards. Chalkboards say, “This is a neighborhood joint. Here’s a daily special. It will change. It’s real.”

If authenticity is the word now, what do you think will be the word in the future?

We’re going to see simplification. Like with food trucks. Some restaurants keep trying to stay on top of innovation by adding things to the menu, but they never take anything off. People are digging concepts where the focus is one single product and they’re doing it damn well.

Today we had the Cheesy Truck at work. It’s just grilled cheese. It’s all they serve. So simple. Think Chipotle, Five Guys, In-N-Out Burger, Piada. These places do it so well; they hone in on it and work on the food. People just want really good, simple food.