Hospitality Design - August 2012 - 80

perspectives

interview: james brennan

A mural of synchronized women divers graces the wall of Gabardine’s retro dining room.
guy. The perception could easily be turned that we’re just trying to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing and really be another nightclub, which I knew we weren’t going to be. So we had to get together and put our arms around how we wanted to have that be designed into the space, from an aspect of making sure that the DJ wasn’t a focal point. We wanted a place, especially in the beginning with Searsucker, that wouldn’t need to be redesigned in ﬁve years. Whereas with Burlap, we wanted to test the waters and create something that had a little bit more shock value. The thing that I love about Searsucker and Herringbone is that they’re very authentic and warm and sexy, at the same time. And I DNA. We spelled it a little bit differently since Brian wanted to pay his respects to the ocean: ‘S-E-A’ instead of ‘S-E-E.’ And the fabric theme was born—the fabric of social dining. think that’s why the older they get the better they’re going to look. And that, to me, is the best design you could have.

The patio bar at Asian cowboy-inspired Burlap.

HD: So let’s talk about the main three—Searsucker, Burlap, and Herringbone, all designed by Thomas Schoos (as well as Gabardine). They have different menus and designs but similar DNA?
JB: There are a multitude of different aspects that I think truly create a social dining experience. Some people think if you’ve got one or two of them, that’s enough, but I personally don’t subscribe to that. I think there are ﬁve or six [elements]. They’re everything from open kitchens where you can socially engage in watching and talking about what’s going on, to a big bar area that bleeds into some lounging areas, specialty handcrafted cocktails, and food menus that are engaging. (When I say engaging, they’re meant for people to ask their servers questions and maybe chuckle over or be intrigued by.) Last but not least—and I would say most importantly—is what we’re doing musically.

HD: Your concepts are highly successful. Do you think your formula is what diners are looking for today?
JB: It deﬁnitely starts with value—and I think value can be deﬁned in many different ways. You can have a menu that’s not low-cost, but still provide other things so they feel like they’re getting more for their money. Value doesn’t necessarily translate into just the price of an entrée—it’s really about what you get for that price. This is where I brought my nightclub mentality in. People would ask me, how do you get people to spend three hundred and seventy ﬁve dollars for a twenty-ﬁve dollar bottle of Grey Goose? And the reason is there’s so much more than the value of just the bottle of vodka when it gets put on the table—it’s the booth that you’re sitting in, it’s having security staff, your own real estate carved out, not having to ﬁght through the crowd to get to the bar. All those things create value for the customer. That’s the way we look at what we’re doing from a culinary aspect. We have unbelievable service, with consistent, great food that people really enjoy. Then you couple it with what we’re doing musically and the guests’ ability to come in and have a couple of drinks at the bar, be seated for dinner, and when they’re done, move back over to the lounge or bar—it’s a one-stop-shop. People just want more. While there are still some unbelievable white tablecloth, ﬁne dining restaurants out there, I think they are a dying breed. And unless you’re in a super-dense populated urban environment where you can command enough business to really support that, it’s hard for restaurants in, say, a San Diego or some of those tier two and tier three cities, to make it work as an occasion restaurant. People are looking for that value, however the restaurant deﬁnes that. I [also] think they’re looking for fun. People have less disposable income to spend on a night out on the town. And they want to make damn sure that they don’t wind up ruining one of those few times they go out.

HD: Can you elaborate on what you are doing with the music?
JB: The term we use is ‘Balearic Beat.’ And it’s a style of music that was born down in the islands of Ibiza, back in the mid-’80s. It’s not like any type of deep nightclub house—it’s a unique, eclectic style of music that has good BPMs (beats per minute) that increase over the course of the night, from a remix Billie Holiday song to a song that you’ve never heard before. It’s certainly a lynchpin of what we’re doing, but we don’t want any particular thing to overshadow the other. Whether it’s the food, the design, the music, or the specialty cocktails, it all has to work. The minute one of them becomes more of something to the rest, then I think we need to reevaluate and recalibrate where we’re at.

HD: Design-wise, what did you want Schoos to create?
JB: Both Brian and Thomas were reluctant, and fought me on the music and the DJ aspect of it. I think the worry came more from the fact that I had been spoken about and written about as a nightclub

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