Restauratour: A Light Touch

Max & Ermas ditches dark colors and heavy decor to create a female-friendly interior.

By Lisa Bertagnoli, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 4/1/2007

In 1972, Max & Erma’s began life as a fern bar, complete with dark woods and a visual overload of decorative items hanging on the walls and from the ceiling.

More than three decades later, that look has changed, if not radically, then substantially. Dark woods are mostly gone, replaced with a lighter finish. The walls are "raspberry truffle" red, and panes of colored glass brighten interior dividers as well as exterior windows. Much of the "stuff" is gone, too. What remains is a carefully edited selection of vintage-looking photos and larger objects such as a kids’ car, an Indian motorcycle and a neon sign.

Slate covers most of the floor, which was formerly stained concrete and carpet. The interior is brighter, with more than a half-dozen varieties of pendants, lamps and lighting fixtures illuminating tabletops and booths. Once a focal point, the bar now is off to the side, its lounge area outfitted with oversize chairs and cocktail tables.

Overall, the new look is "lighter and brighter, with more vibrant colors and fixtures," says Rob Lindeman, president of Columbus, Ohio-based Max & Erma’s. "It projects an image of quality and uniqueness, and it grabs your eye."

Point of Difference

The idea for a redesign dates to 2004, when Max & Erma’s executives took a hard look at the casual-dining chain’s competitive niche. "We found ourselves lumped in with Friday’s, Red Robin, Ruby Tuesday and other competitors," Lindeman says. "We didn’t put ourselves there, but the majority of customers did."

It wasn’t a spot in which Lindeman was entirely comfortable. "We realized we weren’t as different as we used to be," he says.

Lindeman hired WD Partners, a Columbus, Ohio-based design firm, to work with the chain on a prototype. Focus groups with heavy Max & Erma’s users revealed two facts: First, that women made most of the decisions on whether to visit Max & Erma’s, and second, that customers loved the concept but thought it outdated.

"We wanted to get away from all that theming going on," says Lee Peterson, vice president of WD brand and creative services.

For WD Partners, the results of the focus groups meant several design mandates, including brand updates as well as operational improvements. For instance, the new buildings are roughly the same size as the older buildings, but the kitchen occupies 46 percent of the space, compared to 54 percent in the former building. The smaller kitchen is more efficient and allows for faster service.

One of the biggest interior design changes made to appeal to women was the addition of lighting, not necessarily to add more light, but to add visual interest. "Customers love different kinds of lights," Peterson says. The new design includes eight different types of light fixtures. Swirled Venetian-glass pendants hang above the bar. Quirky opaque fixtures that resemble folded napkins are suspended above booths, and oversize living-room-style fabric shades hang from the ceiling.

A Nod to the Past

Max & Erma’s didn’t totally discard its heritage. Signature touches remain such as a sundae bar set in a vintage, claw-foot bathtub. Some details are toned down. Black-and-white photos of founders Max and Erma Visocnik still decorate the walls, but so do photos of younger people. Photos "are more about Erma or Erma’s daughter, than Max and Erma," Peterson says.

Another holdover: the human-looking plastic legs that form the base of two cocktail tables in the lounge area. In older stores, the legs belong to several bar stools. Two Tiffany-style lamp fixtures, local memorabilia such as signs and photos, and neon signs and small motorcycles suspended from the ceiling are relics from the older design as well.

Spending Habits

The new building costs about $1.9 million to build, in line with the cost of the older stores, Lindeman says. However, the money is spent differently: "If we have $100 to spend, we spend $80 of it where we get a ton of credit, and the other $20 where we have to spend it to deliver product," he says.

Remodels, which will include decorative items but no structural changes (for instance, no fireplace), will cost about $275,000. Max & Erma’s plans to have most of the system remodeled within the next five years.

So far, 10 of the chain’s 100 units (a mix of new restaurants and remodeled locations) sport the new look. Remodeled locations are posting average unit volumes 10 percent higher than untouched stores; new stores see volumes about 20 percent higher.

Traffic is brisk as well. The typical Max & Erma’s has 175,000 guests a year; the prototype in Springboro, Ohio, which opened in October, is on track to serve 205,000 customers its first full year of business. Customers spend more, too, with checks averaging $13.60, compared to $13.25 at older restaurants.

The prototype, however, needs some refinements. For instance, future stores will have more seats. The new prototype has about 200 seats, 10 fewer than older stores. Going forward, Max & Erma’s will add eight seats to the dining room "without compromising objectives," Lindeman says.

New locations also will have more interior brick. "It adds an element of warmth and is another piece of that heritage," Lindeman says. And for an "irreverent, fun" look, the bathtub sundae bar area will be redesigned to resemble a real retro bathroom, complete with a shower head, towels, shower curtain and black-and-white hexagonal tile.

It’s all part of balancing what Max & Erma’s was with what it wants to be: "A unique experience that’s not a me-too place," Lindeman says.