Hospitality Design - August 2010 - 36

perspectives

sketchbook

something old
Waverly Inn’s chef John DeLucie— much to the delight of foodies everywhere—has opened his own restaurant, the Lion in New York’s West Village with restaurateur Mark Amadei. Housed in a former 1960s cabaret where Barbra Streisand won a talent show and was later discovered, he brought in designer Megan Sharpe to bring back the character of its heyday. “The space is two words: faded beauty,” says the Kelly Wearstler alum. “The restaurant is so rich in history that we wanted to expose as much of the original structural details as possible.” The just-below-street exterior harkens back to an English townhouse with creeping ivy and black lacquer doors. Inside, there’s a “sense of decayed beauty and gothic macabre” throughout the space, which features a long tavern bar with exposed wood beams, an open kitchen, and a multi-story dining room. The main focal point is its rotating art collection that covers the walls, with pieces from Andy Warhol, David LaChapelle, Damien Hirst, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. “We created a space that had its own story…a beautiful townhouse that had been in a single family for generations,” Sharpe says. “We imagined that the great, great grandparents had begun collecting art in the 18th century and as the house was passed through the generations, the art was never removed. Instead, the kids simply added as they collected.”

elevated eats
We all climbed trees when we were younger, but how about eating in one? Now guests staying at the Soneva Kiri by Six Senses in Kood, Thailand, can enjoy a unique dining experience in a Eucalyptus tree, almost 40 feet above sea level. Guests enter the four-seat “tree pod” at ground level and then the nest-like space made of steel and rattan is hoisted up by a harness and placed on a platform. A waiter serves the food, ttingly made from local ingredients, from a zip line hanging above. For even a more memorable experience, the pod is set in a spot perfect for sunset.

SMOOTH TRANSITION
With the recent frozen yogurt craze and the inﬂux of new brands, one of the originals, TCBY, the Country’s Best Yogurt, is upping its game with a new brand identity, vibrant interiors, and a self-serve model. “Part of what TCBY set out to do was to go back and revisit the brand positioning and the brand architecture,” explains Timothy Casey, CEO of TCBY, which opened its ﬁrst location almost 30 years ago. The new prototype, which was completed by TCBY in partnership with StruckAxiom, is a modern space with a “hangout factor.” Indoor and outdoor signage, packaging, and uniforms have been revamped; the new social lounge concept boasts refreshing and youthful tones of green, yellow, orange, pink, and blue; and bright wall graphics and circular suspended light ﬁxtures complete the experience. The ﬁrst rollout of the rebranded TCBY opened last month with a corporate store in Salt Lake City, with more to come soon.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - August 2010