Putting a Vision on Paper

After meeting with several great architects, I have chosen to work with HagerSmith Design PA out of Raleigh, NC, as the company’s architectural and design firm. I will be working with Alicia Hylton-Daniel, Interior Designer and Durham resident, as the primary project manager and designer, in addition to Barbara Bennett, Food Service Consultant/Restaurant Designer, and David Black, Architect and LEED certified. I believe this three-person team will provide a great value for our concept and operations by specializing in both restaurant design and interior finishes. Together, they bring over 35 years of experience in restaurant and architectural design with interior finishes.

Together, we are finalizing the design phase of the project whereby I will receive full construction documents in a few weeks. Over the past 3 weeks, we have finalized our kitchen equipment list and overall floor plan, which includes the specific layout of our new space (i.e. kitchen and equipment, coffee and bar area, restrooms, seating area, etc.). Now we are working with an engineer to include the plumbing, mechanical, and electrical aspects of the restaurant so that we can bid the project to a contractor, and begin permitting with the city of Durham. Permitting will take approximately 2-3 weeks, and we anticipate starting construction by mid-July. We have 3 to 4 different contractors whom we will bid our project to.

The above photo is a visual rendering of our proposed concept standing at the right-side front entrance of the building. Now we simply have to implement this visual rendering into a physical space!