Bruegger's Bagels will begin rolling out a new design this month with a warmer feel aimed at encouraging customers to linger.
Jim Greco, president and chief executive of parent company Bruegger’s Enterprises, said the redesign debuts April 30 and is expected to take a year to complete. The cost of the project is pegged at around $10 million for the chain's 295-unit system.
“We realized it had been seven years since we’d created our current design,” Greco said, “and we were looking to make sure the concept is fresh and relevant with our guests. We wanted to create a next generation design; that’s what the impetus was.”
Columbus, Ohio-based design firm WD Partners created the new design, which incorporates a brick and stone hearth in the bagel display area, a community table, cozier seating and a European flair. The color palette of the redesigned restaurants is inspired by the chain's fresh baked bagels and bread, with warm tones of pumpkin and espresso brown and accents of the cherry red seen in Bruegger's logo. Click here to see renderings of the new design.
“It’s a warmer, more inviting atmosphere,” Greco said. "We’ve accomplished that with the colors we’ve used, the partitions that break up the dining-room space and the artwork that’s on the wall. All of those things create a warmer, inviting space. Guests will find they want to linger a while."
Greco said redesigned company stores would roll out first, in order to give franchisees time to obtain financing as the economy continues to recover. He added that the company was looking into ways to help franchisees obtain the necessary capital to complete the design overhauls.
“Seven years ago, when we were into the redesign [of our current model], we were coming out of our last recession, but franchisees were able to find the money to do the work,” he said. “They found that the renovation paid for itself and we expect that will happen this time around again. Of course [we realize] we were in a different economic climate in 2003.”
Greco said the franchised units would begin the redesign process in 2011, when the economy is projected to be operating in recovery mode. He also noted that Bruegger’s Enterprises is planning a redesign of its recently acquired Timothy’s World Coffee concept. He declined to offer details, but said the process would begin next week.
Contact Elissa Elan at [email protected].