Article
Fast casuals light it up
Restaurants find cost savings through the use of natural and LED light.
March 9, 2009 by Julie Sturgeon — independent journalist, CEOEditor, Inc.
Strengthening your brand image with customers can be as simple as flipping a switch.Just ask Saladworks, where executives at the Conshohocken, Penn., headquarters discovered that under its monochromatic mood lighting, customers thought the lettuce and produce featured in their salads was bagged. In fact, it's chopped fresh daily.
So, the 104-unit franchise hit the drawing board to produce a new prototype that focuses greatly on lighting, adding two overhead skylights (with bulbs in) to accomplish that bright, fresh feel. Additionally, the fronts of all future Saladworks locations will be all glass to bring in more natural light.
"Based on client input and observations, fast casual restaurants in general tend to have a little more mood lighting, especially in the evenings," said Rick Farrell, president of EcoTek Lighting in Lake Forest, Calif.
Like Saladworks, officials at The Original Soup Man in New York City believe that trend may be turning.
"We find that brightness lends itself to positive merchandising. Particularly these days you need to go that extra mile, which is to provide the guests with an upbeat feeling," said Tom Romano, vice president of business development for the fast casual concept. "They come not only to enjoy a good meal, but to look for something that will make them feel good about the entire experience."
The Original Soup Man typically locates in strip centers, which offer rectangular shapes 80 feet deep. On a technical level, the trick is to make sure the lighting is balanced as gaps in this expanse play tricks on customers' eyes. The restaurant also down-lights the soup kettles at the counter so hungry consumers can see the shiny stainless steel and steam rising from the pots. It also pays close attention to down-lighting its salad case for optimum color.
Romano prefers to stay away from pure fluorescent bulbs in favor of incandescent lighting's softness and flattering hues. But in terms of volume, he hasn't found an atmosphere he considers too bright for a fast casual setting.
"People are out to treat themselves. I don't guess they'll say, ‘Gee, this restaurant has overdone it in terms of electricity and they're burning up the world,' if you will," he said.
Keeping it Affordable
On the other hand, restaurant owners do need to fret such things such as the electric bill. According to Farrell, quick serve and fast casual units are considered energy hogs, in large part because their hours can average 18 to 20 a day.
Even without warnings from pundits that federal regulations under consideration could raise energy costs by 62 percent, it's a category to watch. That's why Broach Management, which owns 19 Burger Kings in Arizona, recently chose to install LED lighting. Manufacturers claim LEDs save 80 percent of electricity compared to incandescent, and 50 percent compared to compact fluorescent lighting. Not only does it show off the proper hues, but it helps reduce overall air temperature to save on air-conditioning costs.
Farrell intends to push the savings envelope even further with an area many operators forget when it comes to lighting. EcoTek will introduce a direct backlit LED menu board by the first of April, the first of its kind in the industry according to his research. Rather than a Plexiglas surface lit by LEDs down the edge that try to stretch the beams to the center of the board, the new set-up features grids of low-power LEDs, as many as 144 per square foot.
The electricity savings is approximately 55 percent over the fluorescent versions, in Farrell's tests, but he added to the bottom line by creating a design that pulls the heat they do generate away from the back of the LEDs, which increases their longevity beyond the stated seven years.
He aimed the lights' intensity toward the brighter side, but for fast casuals whose brand image continues to dictate mood lighting, technology can dim the LEDs to match.
"When you dim fluorescent lamps, it decreases their life expectancy and it's not a linear relationship to saving energy," Farrell said. "For example, dimming a fluorescent lamp might save 20 percent of the energy."
In contrast, dimming an LED by 50 percent saves 45 percent of the energy.Just don't expect customers to recognize these changes, Romano warns.
"In informal surveys they're not always cognizant of the subtleties, like a dark spot in the restaurant," he said. "But our team has more than 100 years of cumulative experience in the restaurant business and we've found that even, balanced lighting is very important. People give their real feedback with their wallets."
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