design:retail - August 2014 - (Page 20)

innovation 020 Pie Tech W HAT'S HOT ABOUT ordering a meal via touchscreen? Let's check with Pizza Vinoteca, a new dine-in and carryout spot for budget-minded foodies fond of gourmet pizza and wine. The techenhanced, two-story, 4,500-sq.-ft. space makeover debuted this past March in New York's Union Square. First, the technology is inescapable. Guests can't miss the bank of iPad touchscreens passing a traditional menuboard calling out pizzas, salads, paninis and wines. "Our design approach was to emulate and enhance the flow of the typical guest experience," explains Douglas Riccardi, founder, Memo Productions, which handled identity development and creative direction for the store's app. The idea is to get them to order drinks and starters as soon as possible. With this ordering system, guests have control over the pacing of their meal, plus they can track their order on overhead screens. Pizza Vinoteca also makes it easy to learn AUGUST 2014 DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM about each of the 36 wines by the glass, including where it comes from and what grapes were used, as well as pairing advice. The first outpost of this planned chain is minimal and modern with its generous use of glass and black-and-white stripped walls-a cheeky nod to barcodes, which also make their way onto packaging (think carryout boxes and cups) designed by Memo. There's a colorful wine wall and a blackand-white mosaic mural of Sophia Loren telegraphing Pizza Vinoteca's Italian roots. "A restaurant is a study in choreography," explains architect James Biber of the eponymous firm. "And when something as basic as ordering technology changes, everything changes. We had to help make the technology feel like an improvement, not a poor substitute." To accomplish this, rubber-lined slots in the tables hold the iPads upright, and take up as little table space as possible. While that seems like a small detail, Biber says, "It required enormous time, testing and prototyping to get it right. It's just one small part of an entirely new way to experience familiar food served in an unfamiliar way." The lighting plan, created by Focus Lighting, uses mainly LED sources to both relax and stimulate patrons. Installed in a varied array, visitors get a sense of movement overhead, pulling them toward a touchscreen console where they can place their orders. The technology at Pizza Vinoteca even translates all the way down to the food-pies are cooked on a 16-burner grill (rather than a traditional pizza oven) that uses infrared heat, Following the New York outpost, the Boston area will welcome Pizza Vinoteca later this year. Buon appetito, Beantown! - Janet Groeber Pizza Vinoteca: Photo by RYAN FISCHER iPad: Photo courtesy of MEMO PRODUCTIONS http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - August 2014

design:retail - August 2014
Contents
Editor’s Note
Show Talk
On Trend
We Love This!
Designer Picks
Innovation
Postcard
How’d They Do That?
Have You Heard?
Mingle
The Visual Eye
Searching for Steve Jobs
Global Designer Roundup
ALMACENES SIMAN
The Arvind Store
diptyque
Products
Backstory

design:retail - August 2014