The Restaurant Design Academy helps operators move on from the two bad options often presented to them…
When opening or renovating a venue, operators face an impossible choice.
Option one: Hire a designer. Budget $15,000 to $50,000 for fees alone. Then discover the real cost – designers who specify $800 custom furniture when $200 commercial-grade works better. $4,000 European lighting that looks stunning but customers would’ve been happy with a $200 local light. Imported tiles that photograph beautifully but can’t survive a Saturday night rush.
The design fees are just the beginning. The specifications are where budgets truly explode. Not to mention the layout means you need an extra person working every shift.
Option two: DIY it yourself. Save the fees, risk everything else. No experience with spatial planning? Hope you get the flow right. Never created construction drawings? Pray contractors understand your sketches. Don’t know compliance requirements? Discover them when the council rejects your plans – or worse, after you’ve built.
Many operators who try DIY end up hiring a designer anyway, now with less time and more desperation. Premium rates, rushed decisions, compromised results.
The hidden costs of design awards
Here’s what operators discover too late: designers don’t run venues. They’ve never built a roster, paid wages and desperately tried to get labour down from 46%. They don’t stand at the pass watching tickets pile up because the kitchen layout creates bottlenecks.
They don’t know that poor street presence can cost you 30% of potential walk-in revenue. That the wrong entry flow makes customers hesitate, turn around, keep walking. That table placement affects labour costs – inefficient layouts require extra staff just to cover the same number of covers.
Designers optimise for awards, aesthetics and portfolio shots. Operators need venues that make money.
I’ve seen it repeatedly: the stunning open kitchen that looks incredible but requires two extra staff during service. The “feature” bar that reduces seating capacity by four tables – $80,000+ in annual revenue sacrificed for aesthetics. The impressive entrance that’s beautiful but doesn’t pull people in from the street.
When specifications blow budgets
The $40,000 design fee seemed manageable. Then the quotes arrived.
- Custom timber tables: $45,000. The designer insisted they were “essential to the concept.” Commercial-grade alternatives that last longer and look just as good? $12,000.
- Equipment with custom panels: $38,000. A professional machine that actually works better? $18,000.
- Imported Italian tiles throughout: $65,000. Local alternatives with the same aesthetic? $12,000.
- Statement pendant lights at $3,000 each.
- Designer chairs at $1,200 per seat.
- Designer-specified materials throughout: $200,000 over original budget. Every finish, every fixture, every piece of equipment chosen for visual impact, not operational reality or budget constraints.
Here’s what they don’t tell you: customers don’t love your venue because of $800 chairs or imported tiles. They love it because it feels right. Because the flow works. Because the atmosphere makes them want to stay. You can create a venue customers love without the designer price tag.
By the time operators realise what’s happening, they’re locked in. Contractors hired, materials ordered, opening date announced. The only option is to somehow find the money or compromise on elements that actually matter.
The compliance disasters
Then there’s what gets missed entirely when you DIY.
I’ve watched operators discover $100,000 in compliance costs after leases were signed and construction started. Ventilation requirements miscalculated. Accessibility standards overlooked. Fire egress poorly planned. Grease trap specifications wrong.
They didn’t think about what happens when an inspector walks through. When council audits your kitchen. When you need council sign-off and everything’s already built.
What’s actually needed
The problem isn’t that designers exist or that DIY is impossible. The problem is the missing middle ground. Operators need the skills to translate their operational knowledge into professional documentation. Not 4 year design degrees – just quick to learn technical skills. How to develop a concept that creates the atmosphere customers love. How to play around in 3D using simple software. How to model layouts that optimise flow and reduce labour. How to create drawings contractors take seriously. How to choose materials that look great but don’t explode budgets. How to change the design on the fly to make sure you stay on budget.
Skills that bridge the gap between expensive dependency and risky DIY.
Operators like Sean from Parade Burgers, Bodega Deli and Rosalia’s Pizza, Betty from Saigon 60’s, Jay from Lowbrow, Josh and Brody from Jo Bros and Loco Bros have proven this works. They design their own venues, and projects, save $20,000 to $100,000+ per project, and create spaces customers genuinely love – because they understand what actually matters during service.
A different approach
After designing 500+ venues through Millé Hospitality Design Studio, and owning four venues myself, I built the Restaurant Design Academy to teach this system. The same approach behind those projects, now accessible to operators who want control without the risk and budget blow outs.
Restaurant Association members receive special access and pricing: landing.restaurantdesignacademy.com
Not everyone needs to design their own venues. But every operator should know it’s possible.
