The literal definition of a menu is ‘a bill of fare or a list of food items a restaurant prepares and serves.’ Following the literal definition, one could just list the items offered on a piece of paper.  However, successful chefs and restaurant owners will realize the broad and comprehensive purpose of a well-designed menu.  An effective menu design should communicate a brand, the vision, the ambiance and feel of the restaurant and the food and the experience a guest can expect to have.

The driving force behind a well-designed menu is not the designer or printer, it is the restaurant owner or head chef. As the creative mastermind behind menu development, their insight, vision and guidance are what make it a complete representation of the brand experience.

Whether it is a five-star restaurant or a mom and pop diner, the menu needs to be developed from the perspective of the specific clientele the restaurant is looking to attract.  Once established, the goal is to creatively impress and entice guests. This comes down to the actual menu design, the fonts, color palates, use of whitespace and/or photos, descriptive content, even the type of paper used or the presentation folder it’s housed in.

Keeping the branding a streamlined theme throughout all elements of the restaurant, including the all-important menu design, will play a vital role in the success of the restaurant and greatly increase the chances of repeat customers.

We are here to tell you YES! You can fulfill your dream, but launching a restaurant requires an enormous amount of knowledge and experience that even the most experienced restaurateur will find daunting. Enter VSAG: a team of restaurant consultants, restaurant designers and restaurant developers that combines their wide-ranging expertise to help our clients in a variety of different ways.  VSAG is leading the hospitality consulting industry with our team creating innovative concepts that are not only grabbing headlines, but garnering awards and loyal followers.

In addition to helping you in any way, our goal is to set you apart from the competition. We love the process, the planning, the customization, the branding. It all comes together in the end, and along the way we use the restaurant business plan we developed as step 1 to guide us and turn your visit and dream into a tangible product, a real brand that can be packaged and sold. Whether to investors, guests or the media, we will keep your image consistent throughout all facets of not only the restaurant design and menu design, but elements in the all restaurant development process.

Sure the hours might be long, you will pay your staff before yourself and you might be so tired some nights you sleep in your chef coat, but having VSAG’s restaurant consultants as your partner will make the process a little easier.

On October 21, VSAG Marketing Director Jennifer Motruk Loy, gave the Washington Business Journal initial details about the second Founding Farmers location. The Journal’s BizBeat blog published news of VSAG’s plans to open Founding Farmers in Park Potomac, MD next Fall. The Washington, DC location opened September 18, 2008 and VSAG has signed a lease in Park Potomac, MD with the goal of opening the new location around that same time in 2011. VSAG will continue to manage Farmers & Fishers, Founding Farmers in Washington, DC and at this new location. More news to come.

The winning projects are featured in the Winter 2009/ 2010 issue of Mid-Atlantic Construction magazine.

Founding Farmers iPhone app

It’s no surprise that iPhones and smart gadgets that offer limitless uses and life’s little ‘helpers’ in the form of user applications (‘apps’) have expanded into the restaurant business.  VSAG is at the forefront of directing new apps for client restaurants and concepts Founding Farmers, and two new soon to be launched iPhone apps for sister restaurant Farmers & Fishers and new concept Sauca mobile restaurant.

The Founding Farmers iPhone app has been so popular, in fact, that developer Sweb Development has been featured in a number of articles and stories of note, including this recent one from the Wall Street Journal from December 8, in which VSAG Principal Dan Simons is interviewed as a business owner and also as a big fan of the iPhone app that he commissioned from Sweb.   “What we’re able to provide for our guests through the apps is convenience and interaction,” said Simons.  ”We’ve received great feedback from our guests and we want to try and use the app in as many different ways as possible to really engage with our guests.  It’s been a super addition to our marketing strategy and outreach.”

The Gold Key Hospitality Awards are hosted by Hotel Magazine and Interior Design Magazine and recognizes design firms who have done the most innovative work on hospitality renovations or new builds from around the globe, for hotels, restaurants and spas. Congratulations to CORE and the whole restaurant team for Founding Farmers for a great showing and for garnering international attention.