Pizza Today - January 2019 - 32

properties," advises Tim Spiegelglass,
owner of Spiegelglass Construction
Company in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
"Luxury Vinyl Tile, known as LVT, is ideal
for the dining room - it's inexpensive,
durable, and available in a wide range of
colors and styles to match your décor.
From a construction standpoint, we like
it because if down the road there's an
issue with the floor, it's easy to replace the
problematic section without any impact on
the rest of the floor."
A MATERIAL MORE COMMONLY
FOUND IN abundance outside of

pizzerias is concrete. At first consideration,
the hard-working, hard-wearing material
may seem like an odd choice for anything
but sidewalks, let alone a restaurant, but
concrete is strong and versatile. And with
the right treatment, it can be surprisingly
stunning and offer a unique, highlycustomized look to a restaurant.
"Polished concrete is modern and
durable, and we use it quite often in
restaurant design," says Abigail M.
Carlen, marketing director at Holst,
an architecture firm based in Portland,
Oregon. "At the Wylder [an Idaho-based
pizzeria designed by Holst last year], it
complements the concrete structure and
other natural materials used in the design."
Daniel Levine, director of the trends
consultancy The Avant-Guide Institute,
agrees that concrete is hot for restaurant
flooring.
"Concrete is timeless. It might be
polished, stained or embedded with gold
cracks," says Levine. "Concrete provides
a seamless, monolithic floor that's easy to
clean. Crumbs can't fall into the cracks. It's
non-slip."
ANOTHER FLOORING OPTION

THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE LOSING
POPULARITY with restaurant operators
is hardwood, which remains a solid choice
for design in 2019. According to Levine,
hardwood also helps operators evoke a
specific atmosphere in their restaurants.
"Hardwood flooring appeals to a
natural look sensibility," says Levine. "It's
more about family and creating a warm
atmosphere."
3 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 9

More importantly, classic hardwood
flooring can be updated to reflect a
modern, trendy design aesthetic.
"Forward-thinking restaurants use a
herringbone or a houndstooth pattern,"
Levine says.
A sense of place can also be laid out by
the flooring choice in a restaurant. For
operators who want to pay homage to a
specific location, such as Italy, Levine notes
they often install palladium flooring.
Additionally, operators can use their
flooring choice to complement and
support the identity of their restaurant.
For example, a restaurant that focuses on
locally-sourced, organic ingredients and
clean labeling should opt for a flooring
material that supports that specific
philosophy.
"One of the biggest trends in food right
now is clean labeling, locally-sourced,
organic. The flooring should be, too," says
Levine.
According to Levine, trends, whether
in design or not, aren't siloed to specific
industries, but more reflect what is
resonating culturally. A driving trend in
today's world is documenting and sharing
images via social media. As a result, some
pizzeria operators are embracing this trend
and opting for floors that get attention or
are "Instagramable," he notes.

such as an unexpected pattern, unusual
treatment, or one-of-a-kind color or stain
to make them more modern or to reflect
the sensibilities of a restaurant, overall, it
isn't a super dramatic trend change from
last year.
"Some trends change the world quickly,
and some are incremental," explains
Levine.
A small change can be enough to create
a wow factor in a restaurant. To further
designate the identity of a separate room
or partitioned space, for example, operators
can opt to include a floor that's different
than the rest of the flooring featured
in the restaurant. By introducing a new
look in a smaller space, operators can see
how a trendy flooring material looks and
feels and how it truly serves or supports
the aesthetic of their restaurant before
committing to a complete floor overhaul.
For all the effort put forth in creating
a floor that stands out, operators can also
expend the same effort in a flooring that
fades into the background, notes Levine.
Whether operators want to make their
restaurant flooring a showstopper or a
background supporting character in their
design scheme, it's important that any
choice, from top to bottom, truly reflects
the uniqueness and identity of their
restaurant. n

ALTHOUGH FLOORING TRENDS
FOR 2019 revolve around tried-and-true

DEANN OWENS is a freelance journalist
living in Dayton, Ohio. She specializes in
features and human-interest stories.

classic materials with an updated twist
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Pizza Today - January 2019

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