Overview

This small space on the Alton High street had a long history in the D&B industry. Many might recognise its original layout (from the photos below) as a Fish & Chips shop, with the typical benches for waiting customers. My clients operate the space as a Chinese takeaway, while planning for a restaurant renovation.

Ambitious as they are, they want to be pioneers in the area and offer a gourmet style menu of Asian food. As with many small, emerging and ambitious entrepreneurs in the hospitality sector, my clients needed the interior of the space to be modern, to attract social media attention, and very importantly – to set them apart from the stereotypical look of a Chinese restaurant.

Due to the number of customers that the clients needed to fit in, we recommended a DDA bathroom to be included during the space planning phase. Several existing floor level changes, in an already tight space, needed to be taken into consideration – both for the front of house layout, as well as the staff route between the kitchen and serving area. Furthermore, I worked with the client on updating the design of the building façade, as it was vital that the restaurant draws people in and sets itself apart from first impressions.

During the FF&E specifying phase, I presented 2 different schemes to the client, both of which met the brief, yet they gave them very different look and feel to choose from. At the end of our presentation meeting, I was delighted, as the clients had expressed they felt I understood exactly what they wanted to achieve, even when they struggled to express it. I shortly received the following email from them:

“Hi Snezhi, No words can describe how much we appreciate you used your magic wand to make the project look exactly how we would like it to. You are truly talented!

Dear Nick [line manager], you are very luck to have such a talented designer in your team!”

It is this type of feedback that makes my work fulfilling. I look forward to seeing this project completed in 2025.