NEWH - Fall 2013 - (Page 50)

Project Trademark at the Westin Alexandria, Virginia Making a Mark The United States Patent Office informs a Washington, DC-area restaurant By Joy Gettis R • Photography by Cassidy Duhoney edoing Trademark at the Westin Alexandria in Virginia was a soup-to-nuts job for San Francisco-based Puccini Group. Not only did the design fi rm craft the pub-like interiors, but they also conducted a concept strategy report (CSR) to assess the existing restaurant for increasing profitability, handled operations in terms of hiring and training the staff, and crafted the branding materials, from the logo to the menus. “Th rough conducting the CSR, we learned that the majority of people who passed by the space worked for the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and they passed by on their walks home from work,” explains Puccini’s chief creative officer Robert Polacek. “We learned that this demographic was in need of a neighborhood bar/restaurant because there was not a space like that. To attract this demographic, our operations studio implemented a mixology program and hired a notable bartender to spearhead the now successful program.” Design-wise, Polacek and his team took inspiration from the inventors and the inventions of the patent office as inspiration, as well as the history of Alexandria and nearby Washington, DC. “It’s a refi ned, modern, stylish take on the traditional American pub that existed in the East during the revolutionary times,” says Polacek. “We wanted to create an approachable neighborhood bar that catered to the business class in the area, as well as to the hotel guests and the locals.” The space is dressed in brass details, end-cut wood flooring, textures such as tweeds and wools, traditional colonial colors, and artwork focusing on the American inventor. The designers came up with a few creations of their own: the slate bartop allows guests to sketch their ideas and inventions right onto the surface, and a custom wood communal table in the bar area allows guests to plug in. “It has a classic Americana meets modern feel,” Polacek says. 〉〉〉 Photos of inventors and inventions hang over lounge seating at Trademark. 50 www.newh.org NEWH_0913_Projects.indd 50 9/3/13 11:19 AM http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - Fall 2013

NEWH - Fall 2013
Table of Contents
News
Who’s Who
Sustainability
Conference Roundup
Q&A: Julia Marks
Q&A: Scott Pope
Icon of Industry
Have You Seen?
Product Know How
On the Scene
Cover Story
Project: A Bar
Project: Trademark
Save the Date
New Members
Partner Profiles
Ad Index

NEWH - Fall 2013