Restauratour: Less Is More at Houlihan's

Houlihan’s cuts back on clutter in favor of a clean, residential-looking prototype.

By Lisa Bertagnoli, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 7/1/2006

Take an online tour of Houlihan’s.

At first glance, the new Houlihan’s in Algonquin, Ill., doesn’t offer much for the hungry eye. No knickknacks are scattered around. Art is limited to a few abstract prints. There’s not a trendy pendant light in sight.

The lack of design commotion doesn’t mean the interior is boring. Subtle details include recessed lights, flagstone surrounding a communal table and the contemporary X-shaped light fixture above it, sage-green Naugahyde booth backs, and glowing orange plastic panels suspended above the display kitchen.

It’s exactly the look Houlihan’s wanted, says Bob Hartnett, CEO of the 87-unit, Leawood, Kan.-based casual-dining chain. “We were trying to get a 21st-century look but still be warm—and it was meant to have a residential feeling,” Hartnett says.

Cool but Not Cold
The redesign is part of a conceptwide repositioning begun in 2003, the highlight of which is a total revamp of the menu, including food, presentation and the physical menu. Work on the new building also began three years ago, “but that takes longer,” Hartnett says.

Houlihan’s hired Bobby Altman, principal of Miami-based Altman Architects Inc., to handle the exterior and interior architecture. He worked with Dennis Jenkins Associates, an interior-design firm also based in Miami, on the finishes, furniture and other interior details.

Altman, who visited 10 casual-dining chains to research the project, says his mandate was to restore a bit of the cutting edge to the concept. “Houlihan’s used to be known as the hip place to go,” he says. “And Houlihan’s lost its cool.”

Altman’s interior is a “big box” broken up into several areas: a main, sunken dining room, smaller dining areas around its periphery, and a bar that’s visible from the entire room yet separate in feeling thanks to a trellis above it and small lamps on the bar. Glass doors just off the bar open to a 75-seat patio.

The display kitchen, framed below by quilted stainless and above by orange Lexan panels, is the focal point. “It’s a way of zoning this big space,” Altman says. “You’re always being entertained by lights, the kitchen and the out of doors.”

Jennifer Stone, senior interior designer at Dennis Jenkins, created an interior that’s contemporary, but not cold. Warming touches include oak tables and traditional schoolhouse chairs, plus hints of color in the sage upholstery and in the orange-and-cream wall graphics.

The warm look belies the plethora of high-tech touches. Backlit Lexan panels provide the surface of wait stations, which are set with red-leather baskets filled with rolled silverware. The bar top is Phenolic, a dense material made from pressing sheets of paper together. The traditional lamps on the bar have bases made of poured resin and custom-made shades.

A Dramatic Departure
The Algonquin store is the second prototype; the first opened in New Lebanon, Pa., about a year ago. That restaurant is 7,500 square feet and rectangular, while the Algonquin location, square and at 6,300 square feet, is more indicative of future locations, Hartnett says.

The only difference between the first and second prototypes is the display kitchen. In New Lebanon, the space above the kitchen is quilted stainless. In Algonquin, orange Lexan panels, more eye-catching than the stainless, fill the space between the kitchen and the ceiling.

There are, however, several dramatic differences between Altman’s original design and the realized prototypes. The original entry was near the bar; the current doorway is centered in the restaurant, so entering guests “can take in the whole space and feel the whole concept,” Hartnett says.

Altman also specified an open ceiling. But Houlihan’s added pastel soffits to break up the space.

He also designed a mahogany drink rail to accompany the ADA-required ramp, which is to the left of the entryway. Houlihan’s omitted the drink rail, calling it “too tight a fit” in that area of the restaurant, but will reconsider it for future locations.

The Algonquin store cost about $2 million to build. Houlihan’s will make changes to the prototype in the name of value engineering, for a target building cost between $1.8 million and $2 million, Hartnett says. Future building shells might be wood instead of expensive stainless steel. The chain is working with a lighting designer to create dimmers or other ways to reduce power costs. Building systems, such as the HVAC system, are also under review.

Most changes won’t affect the guest experience, because customers are reacting well to the new, pared-down look, says Brian Tepen, director of design for Houlihan’s. Sales at the two prototype stores are “north” of the system’s average, which is $2.8 million to $2.9 million, though Hartnett won’t give specific figures.

He does say that the sales increase isn’t due to more seats: “It’s because we fit the marketplace the way it’s really compelling to consumers.”

Customers at the Algonquin store are favorably comparing the new Houlihan’s to an older store in nearby Schaumburg, Ill. “They say it’s more modern, hipper and open,” says Kurt Bayrenbruch, general manager at the Algonquin store.

Bayrenbruch and his staff especially felt the vibe on Mother’s Day, when the restaurant was on wait from noon to 7:30 p.m. “We could have used about 20 extra tables,” he says.

Menu Sampler

Appetizer
Calamari, in peppery buttermilk batter, with sesame-ginger dipping sauce and Sriracha sauce, $7.75

Soup
Original Baked Potato Soup (pictured), $3.95

Salad
Ahi Tuna Salad: seared rare tuna, napa cabbage, cilantro, bananas and cashews in banana-ginger vinaigrette, topped with won ton strips and soy sauce, $10.95

Sandwich
Grilled Vegetable Panini: Italian bread layered with white beans, grilled zucchini, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, caramelized onions, provolone cheese and walnut-basil pesto, $7.95

Specialty
Chipotle-Smoked Chicken Enchiladas, filled with tomatillo-marinated chicken, onions, garlic and queso fresco atop chipotle-mozzarella sauce, with rice, black beans and chipotle slaw, $10.95