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The Italian Food Hall

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Name : The Italian Food Hall
Location : Crouch End, London

The Italian Food Hall in Crouch End was established in 2005 with a menu of pizzas, delicatessen products and light lunches, with a capacity of 90 covers on a prominent central corner site with outside seating. Although very successful, like most independent businesses they had lost business over the years as big chains such as Waitrose, Costa Coffee and Cafe Nero moved into the area.  
 
The business catered for a vast menu, so the issue was there was no clear identity and uniformity to the business. To sort out this issue we were asked to work towards a full refurbishment, including re-arranging the service area to incorporate all the different aspects of the business. Our brief was to include a delicatessen and bakery retail area, lunch-time impulse purchase section, a Gelateria and a patisserie and premium confectionery area. Also on the brief was  a bar and beverage service area for takeaway and a restaurant area with a functional back bar counter for prep, washing-up and spirits/soft drinks dispensing. With so much to include we began immediately and were soon onto the design layout stage. We were able to fulfill all the objectives from the brief efficiently by producing a CAD layout, which was revised several times in order to fine tune every aspect of the design. The customer decided on our luxery Modular 'Picasso' Display and Counter System, which has a warm cherry finish, combined with carrera marble work tops and plinths to complete the professional modular system look. We also incorporated a raised plinth with LED lighting to the Front Counter and Wall Displays, to create a stunning evening ambiance to the restaurant, making it appeal to the casual diners. Our entire design layout was created from a catering perspective so we located the Pizza Ovens at eye level on the back wall in order to provide full visibility for customers to see the pizzas being freshly made.
 
The complete process from the first consultation, to final installation, took about 6 months, without a day of trade being lost!! As all the Bar Counters and catering equipment were prepared off site and delivered in stages according to a pre-arranged programme with the client’s building contractor. 

A beautiful eatery has been created, attracting more customers, as well as increasing the evening trade.  The staff working environment has also been improved significantly, increasing productivity, so the whole operation now runs very smoothly.