Design and Marketing Specialists join forces to create a full-service niche in restaurant development
Two restaurant-specific firms, National Restaurant Designers and Quantified Marketing Group, have partnered to provide a 'one stop shop' for restaurant development needs, including concept development, architectural design and a variety of marketing services.
National Restaurant Designers (NRD) has teamed with Quantified Marketing Group, the nation’s only full-service strategic marketing and public relations firm that focuses exclusively on the restaurant industry. Together, the two firms provide a full scope of restaurant development services, from initial concept development and architectural design to graphic design and public relations.
National Restaurant Designers was formed in March 2004 as a niche division of Lehmann Mehler Hirst Thornton Associates PA (LMHT), an architecture and engineering firm based in Durham, North Carolina. Enrique A. (“Tony”) Hirst, AIA, brought a broad knowledge base of restaurant design to the firm when he joined in 1982 as a former employee of Hardee’s Food System’s, Inc.
Currently an LMHT partner, Mr. Hirst recognized the need for specialists in the area of restaurant design, based on the intricacies involved in designing and acquiring the proper permits for one. “The majority of our restaurant design work has been the result of poorly-designed buildings that have to be redone,” said Mr. Hirst. “Because restaurants involve more specialized systems than most buildings, it is important that an expert is involved to ensure that all design and permitting issues are carefully addressed before it is too late and becomes too costly.”
After a strategic planning session with Quantified Marketing Group last spring, LMHT discovered that close to 95% of its total revenues were coming from restaurant design work, so it only made sense to take advantage of the expertise they had already developed. This led to the creation of National Restaurant Designers, currently one of the nation’s leading restaurant-specific design and engineering firm with licenses in all 50 states.
Aaron D. Allen, founder/CEO of Quantified Marketing Group, handled the development of this new division similarly to the positioning of his own company. “You don’t merely want to be considered the best of the best; you want to be the only one who does what you do,” said Mr. Allen.
Based partly on this philosophy, NRD completely restructured its approach to marketing and retaining its restaurant client-base, more than doubling its revenues from national chain restaurants, which have previously included marquee brands such as McDonald’s, TGI Friday’s, Starbucks and Loco’s Deli. After the transition in 2004, NRD added Sonic, Hooters, D.L. Roger’s, Jimmy John’s, Bear Rock, and R.J. Gator’s to its restaurant-specific client roster.
Now that NRD has partnered with Quantified Marketing Group, the two firms have the combined capabilities to develop restaurant concepts from the ground up. “Creating such a specialized niche is extremely uncommon, but it is an innovative strategy that has proven to be successful for both of us,” said Mr. Allen. “The fact that our firms have partnered is even more unique and will allow us to further leverage our expertise within the restaurant industry.”
Quantified Marketing Group, based in Central Florida, is currently working with a variety of independent, regional and national chain restaurants, including Ultimate Franchise Systems, Inc.; International House of Pancakes; Firehouse Subs; RJ Gator’s; Nature’s Table; Karu&Y, Florida’s largest single-unit restaurant investment; and Grupo Anderson’s, Mexico’s largest restaurant company.
For more information, please visit www.restaurant-designer.com and www.quantifiedmarketing.com.
National Restaurant Designers was formed in March 2004 as a niche division of Lehmann Mehler Hirst Thornton Associates PA (LMHT), an architecture and engineering firm based in Durham, North Carolina. Enrique A. (“Tony”) Hirst, AIA, brought a broad knowledge base of restaurant design to the firm when he joined in 1982 as a former employee of Hardee’s Food System’s, Inc.
Currently an LMHT partner, Mr. Hirst recognized the need for specialists in the area of restaurant design, based on the intricacies involved in designing and acquiring the proper permits for one. “The majority of our restaurant design work has been the result of poorly-designed buildings that have to be redone,” said Mr. Hirst. “Because restaurants involve more specialized systems than most buildings, it is important that an expert is involved to ensure that all design and permitting issues are carefully addressed before it is too late and becomes too costly.”
After a strategic planning session with Quantified Marketing Group last spring, LMHT discovered that close to 95% of its total revenues were coming from restaurant design work, so it only made sense to take advantage of the expertise they had already developed. This led to the creation of National Restaurant Designers, currently one of the nation’s leading restaurant-specific design and engineering firm with licenses in all 50 states.
Aaron D. Allen, founder/CEO of Quantified Marketing Group, handled the development of this new division similarly to the positioning of his own company. “You don’t merely want to be considered the best of the best; you want to be the only one who does what you do,” said Mr. Allen.
Based partly on this philosophy, NRD completely restructured its approach to marketing and retaining its restaurant client-base, more than doubling its revenues from national chain restaurants, which have previously included marquee brands such as McDonald’s, TGI Friday’s, Starbucks and Loco’s Deli. After the transition in 2004, NRD added Sonic, Hooters, D.L. Roger’s, Jimmy John’s, Bear Rock, and R.J. Gator’s to its restaurant-specific client roster.
Now that NRD has partnered with Quantified Marketing Group, the two firms have the combined capabilities to develop restaurant concepts from the ground up. “Creating such a specialized niche is extremely uncommon, but it is an innovative strategy that has proven to be successful for both of us,” said Mr. Allen. “The fact that our firms have partnered is even more unique and will allow us to further leverage our expertise within the restaurant industry.”
Quantified Marketing Group, based in Central Florida, is currently working with a variety of independent, regional and national chain restaurants, including Ultimate Franchise Systems, Inc.; International House of Pancakes; Firehouse Subs; RJ Gator’s; Nature’s Table; Karu&Y, Florida’s largest single-unit restaurant investment; and Grupo Anderson’s, Mexico’s largest restaurant company.
For more information, please visit www.restaurant-designer.com and www.quantifiedmarketing.com.