How to Design Your Restaurant's Floorplan

Every restaurateur wants a space that enables him to execute his concept. The overall design and the space itself are never the end product. The end product is a successful, functioning business where the owner, operator or chef achieves his dream and realizes his objective.

But getting from the dream to a solid concept and then to an operating restaurant is a challenge. There is a lot of excitement and creative energy in planning a new restaurant. Often, the tedious, necessary early steps are overlooked or rushed to get to the more glamorous, fun activities such as finding a space, designing the bar and kitchen, checking out new equipment and accessories, finding chairs and fabrics, and picking colors, finishes, china, glassware and accessories.

By the time you are ready to begin thinking about the plan or layout of your restaurant, you should have completed several tasks. Spend the time and energy to address these activities. Make the necessary, important decisions that will determine the course of your planning and the ultimate success of your restaurant. All the decisions you make regarding your customers or markets, style of service, menu offerings and pricing, overall image and concept will affect how your restaurant is designed. So, it is clear that these decisions must be made or at least considered before you start sketching out your restaurant.

The Pre-design Tasks

Don't start drawing, don't talk to a real estate broker, don't interview architects, and don't start shopping for furniture. Don't waste anybody's time until you have documented very clearly what it is you are trying to accomplish by developing a business plan and operational plan.

Your business plan. Your business plan is essential. This document will provide, among other things, information regarding your customers (markets), hours of operation, menu offerings, service and operating procedures, image and concept, design and operational features. Since your business plan is the core document that presents your overall concept and vision, you need to be clear about your desires. This is where you make it clear that you want a water feature, display wine room, exhibition kitchen or private dining room. This is the document that dictates the number of seats and seating mix, the number of bar stools and style of bar and lounge. Your financial projections and budgets -- critical components of the business plan -- will be based on this information and supported by schedules and line-item budgets keyed to these assumptions. As these assumptions evolve these financial reports must be updated.

Your operational plan. This is a written, detailed walk-through of your restaurant from back to front and front to back, as seen through the eyes of your manager, chef, servers and bussers, bartender and customers. The purpose of this is to determine what is required functionally to operate your restaurant. If you regard the design process as a complicated puzzle, these are the pieces. Without them, it would be impossible to put your restaurant together. And, without a comprehensive list of "pieces," you may create a plan that is missing a vital component.

The manager may be looking for delivery and service access, security issues, office space requirements, employee bathrooms and changing area, secure storage for liquor, beer and wine, POS systems, and cashier versus server banks. He may also be thinking about features such as a cheese cave or wine room.

As the chef, you focus on the receiving area, trash storage, food and dry goods storage requirements, preparation and cooking space, equipment requirements, and tasks performed by the servers: bread service, soups, dressings, desserts. The chef thinks about workstations and staffing requirements as well as specialty preparation needs like baking, fresh pasta, a butchering area or an exhibition pizza/roasting oven.

When you wear the server hat, you think about server stations and beverage service requirements. You think about tray service or hand service or cart service. You consider food runners and back waiters. The busser thinks about bussing areas, set-up storage, and dish room functions like flatware soaking and linen drop-off. The bartender considers draft beer, automatic glass washer versus three-compartment sink, wine storage, liquor inventory and display needs, specialty drink requirements, and the number of bartender stations.

The customer thinks about finding the place (signage), parking, finding the front door, hanging his coat, and finding the host area, the bar, waiting space and the bathrooms. For example, a popular men's magazine noted that finding the restrooms without looking like you don't know where you are going is a major concern (for men). Looking "stupid" or like the "new guy" does not encourage camaraderie. By the way, the magazine suggested that you wait for someone else to go first and see where he went. These issues are important.

See What Works and Doesn't Work

Researching and studying other similar operations and noting what they do and how they do it is smart planning. Why re-invent the wheel, if you don't have to? I recall working with an operator who wanted to develop at his server area a bread station that was visible to his guests. He wanted them to know that he used fresh baked breads and sliced the large loaves for each table. After brainstorming several convoluted schemes and designs, we visited a restaurant in San Francisco to check out its bar. There, in plain view of the customers was a simple, very functional bread station -- loaves in bins above, a wood cutting board with integral side and rear splashes like a bakers table, and a hole in one corner for the crumbs that emptied into a drawer with a removable pan. It was a clean, simple and inexpensive solution that made the point -- fresh baked bread cut and served to order -- very clear. We had a drink to our good fortune.

Armed with all this data, you can establish and annotate a list of spaces needed to operate your restaurant. In the notes, indicate the size of these areas, functional requirements, and questions to answer later or design issues that are important to you.

You do not need to put your ideas down in any particular order. As the design process evolves, you will continually update your notes, operational plan and business plan. There will also be building and health code issues, and utilities issues that may require professional involvement.

Combining the business plan, operational plan and space requirements schedule, you should have a good grasp of your concept and the spaces needed to make it work. And, armed with this information, you can determine the size and features of the space you require.

Creating a Floor Plan

The information you have developed will enable you to start the space planning process. But, before you can begin to draw, you need an accurate plan of your proposed space. Typically, you will get a floor plan from your real estate broker, landlord or building developer. The floor plan should indicate:

• Workable scale, usually _ in. = 1 ft.
• Demising walls -- Your space may be part of a larger space or building. The plan should clearly indicate the boundaries of your space.
• Guest entry door.
• Delivery access and receiving door.
• Trash area.
• Stairs, ramps and floor elevation changes.
• Columns, chases and other fixed elements that encroach into your space.
• Outdoor patio area, sidewalk seating area.

Your objective is to see if all the pieces fit into the proposed space. Create a workable, conceptual floor plan that shows the entry, waiting area, bar, seating, kitchen, server stations and bathrooms. Design your kitchen and bar to include the necessary storage, work areas and equipment. Develop an overall plan that represents your vision and enables you to function as you describe in your business plan and operational plan.

Depending on your skill level, you may develop the conceptual plan as a sketch to illustrate how you expect the space to work and then hand it off to your architect/interior designer/restaurant designer. Or you may work with a simple CAD program and develop the drawings well enough that you can work directly with a contractor.

A word of caution: Many operators have developed their own restaurant floor plan and have built their restaurants successfully without the guidance and talent of an architect or designer. Many have also attempted this and have "shot themselves in the foot," caused serious delays, incurred significant cost overruns and prayed for a "do over."

Building code requirements, life safety issues and the cost of equipment, construction and materials usually limit complete do-it-yourself projects to minor remodels. How much time and effort you want to devote to actually planning and designing your restaurant, combined with your ability, will determine how far you go. Know what you don't know and think about where your talent and time are most valuable. While you may enjoy the design process, you can remain intimately involved and make all the necessary decisions without doing the actual drawing. It is often a trade-off of time for dollars, assuming you have the ability.

Ready, Set, Draw! (Well, Almost)

First, if the building exists or is under construction and you can visit the site and walk the space, do it. Standing in the space will give you a very good feel for how the restaurant will flow and where different elements, the bar, host, raised dining areas, etc. should go.

Buy a roll of lightweight sketch paper. Use a scale and soft pencils. Overlay the sketch paper on the plan you received from the landlord. Then, working from the general to the specific, you will develop your plan. The initial "bubble diagram" allocates the spaces and establishes the overall flow of the restaurant. Using freehand circles or ovals, indicate where you want the functional areas. (See "Start With a Rough Sketch," below.) Then, begin to refine each area to scale. The advantage of the sketch paper is that you can continually overlay sheet upon sheet as you refine your plan, discarding the lower, more preliminary sketches as you go. Where you start is not important since you will make many changes and refinements, as the plan becomes more specific.

After you are satisfied with the general layout of the bubble diagram, block out the areas. For example, if you want a 12-stool bar and you allocate 24-inch spacing, your bar will be about 24 feet long. Back-bar coolers are typically 24- 30 inches deep. Many operators like a 36-inch work aisle. Front underbar equipment projects about 12 inches beyond the front face of the bartender's bar edge and bar tops are usually 24 inches wide. Based on these "thumb rules," the depth of the bar would be about 8.5 feet from the back wall to the customer edge of the bar top. Therefore, the blocked-out area for your bar would be 24 feet by 8.5 feet.

Use the bubble diagram approach within the kitchen as well since this is a functionally critical space. Another rule of thumb: Work from receiving to storage, to bulk preparation, to finishing, plating, serving and pickup. The location of support areas should not be undervalued. The dishwashing area needs to be readily accessible to the dining room, without imposing the noise and light into the dining area. The ice machine needs to be accessible to the bar and kitchen without creating unnecessary cross traffic. The janitor's closet needs to be accessible to the public restrooms for cleaning and emergencies without interfering with the server pickup or cooking activities.

Critical Dimensions

When you create a drawing to scale, it is essential that you use accurate or at least reasonable dimensions and sizes. When you draw tables smaller than they really are or show chairs that are not extended, as they would be when occupied, more tables and seats will appear. Reality, however, will eventually rear its head and you will only deceive yourself.

While local codes dictate aisle spacing for exiting and the Americans with Disabilities Act requires specific dimensions for entryways, vestibules, exit ways and bathroom access, other dimensions are more flexible and governed more by the operator's preference, experience or the realities of the space. Here, too, seeing what works in other restaurants can be very revealing, especially when it comes to seating. In bars, when you are considering hi-tops versus standard-height tables, you can get a sense from other operations whether the low tables are private enough or if the guests feel towered-over by adjacent, standing bar customers. You can also gauge table spacing and service aisles from other successful restaurants. I would suggest that you carry a small, 6-foot tape measure and, being discreet, measure table sizes, chair-to-chair distances, space between "deuces" (tables for two)

and aisle space when you can. Many restaurateurs will gladly share this information with you. Others, especially if you are going after the same market, will be less inclined to assist. You can also bring a small notebook and make notes and sketches of features and layouts that appeal to you. Every operator takes cues, ideas and inspiration from other successes. My wife's hair or shoulder is in a lot of photos of restaurants when my clandestine but primary focus was on a bar detail or architectural feature. (For typical dimensions of restaurant furniture, fixtures, and work spaces, see "Spacing Out: Rough Dimensions for Startup Restaurateurs," below.)

Revisions, Refinements, and Changes

As long as your restaurant is in the design and drawing stages, do not hesitate to make changes and refinements. Study various options and see how they work. Change and refine the plan as many times as necessary to eliminate any conflicts, bad seats, awkward sight lines or workstations that don't work or are too tight. Prepare sketches of your wait stations and cooks line to see if all your requirements fit the space. Have your staff or restaurateur friends review the plan and get their input and ideas. This is the time to let your imagination and ideas flourish. Do not eliminate elements or compromise because you think they will cost too much or bust your budget. Get your ideas down on paper, create your ideal restaurant and then when you have it where you want it, update and refine your detailed, line-item budgets. After that, you can decide if and where you must make budget cuts.

Restaurant owners spend countless hours researching tabletop accessories, specialty equipment, furniture and fixtures for their new places. They know that these details distinguish them from their competition and enhance their opportunities for success. But, the time you spend on the planning process and the resulting conceptual space plan of your restaurant will have a far greater effect on your ability to succeed. Unlike menus, colors and furnishings, the plan of your restaurant cannot be replaced or changed easily. Yet, many owners and operators leave the critical decisions that determine the overall plan to others.

While design professionals will play an important role in bringing your conceptual plan and ideas to reality, the plan of your restaurant should be based on your operational needs. And, these decisions must come from you. The aesthetic considerations will follow.

Spacing Out:

Rough Dimensions for Startup Restaurateurs

The following guidelines will provide you with a start as you develop your plan. These dimensions are reasonable and fairly typical. But, restaurateurs can and do operate successfully outside these guidelines. Most of these dimensions refer to the depth (front to back) of equipment or aisle space since the length will depend on the size and quantity of equipment you choose.

Bar

• Back bar: 24-30 inches. Notes: Back-bar coolers are 24-27 inches deep, but do not fit tight to the back wall; however, some top overhang is desirable.
• Bar work aisle: 30-36 inches
• Underbar equipment: 18-24 inches. Notes: Add 5 inches for single speed rail.
• Bar top: 24-30 inches.

Seating

• Bar stools: 18-24 inches
• Bar stool spacing: 24-36 inches center to center
• Bar tables: 18 inches in diameter to 30 inches square or round
• Drink shelf: 8-18 inches (Larger sizes for eating)
• Bar chairs: 18-30 inches
• Bar table spacing: 6-18 inches between chairs when occupied
• Dining tables: 30-42 inches square; 54-60 inches round. Bars often use smaller tables, 24-32 inches by 30-32 inches. The more upscale the restaurant, the larger the table; 36-inch squares are very common.
• Banquettes: 18-24 inches deep along wall
• Table spacing: 12-18 inches between tables
• Dining chairs: 18-30 inches
• Aisle spacing: 6-12 inches between chairs when occupied for non-service aisle; 24-36 inches between chairs when occupied to allow for service aisle.

Kitchen

• Work tables, sinks: 30 inches
• Prep counters: 30 inches
• Work aisles: 36-48 inches (Depends on number of employees and crossover traffic).
• Cooking equipment: 36-42 inches from wall. This allows for 3-6 inches at wall for utilities.
• Aisle at cooking line: 30-42 inches. Operators may tighten aisle space to gain seating or counter space. Larger space may require extra step by smaller employees. About 34-36 inches is common.
• Chef's counter/front line: 30-36 inches
• Storage areas: Allow 24 inches for shelving and 30-36 inches for aisle. Double-load aisles whenever possible.
• Walk-ins: Allow for 24-inch shelving or 30 inches for rolling racks, 36 inches for aisles. Remember that walk-in coolers have their own walls, typically 4 inches thick, and are not installed tight to walls (2-inch air gap).

Start With a Rough Sketch

An initial "bubble diagram" allocates the spaces and establishes the overall flow of the restaurant. Using freehand circles or ovals, indicate where you want the functional areas. Use sketch paper so that you can continually overlay sheet upon sheet as you refine your plan, discarding the lower, more preliminary sketches as you go. Where you start is not important since you will make many changes and refinements, as the plan becomes more specific.