OK, so you’ve done your research and you’re now convinced that a juice bar in your health club can be a tremendous profit center as well as a means for providing healthy food choices for your members. You want to help your members achieve their performance goals. So, what is the next step?
Choosing a Designer
Doing it yourself? You may have talent for drawing, but how well do you grasp equipment or cabinet layout? Do you know the proper equipment to use and where it should be located to ensure that your juice bar will run efficiently? How well do you understand electrical codes and plumbing restrictions? For instance, do you know the difference between a direct drain and an indirect drain, or a 208-volt versus a 240-volt application? One mistake could cost you, big time. Even architects who are skillful in creating concepts that look great on paper are challenged when it comes to placing the appropriate equipment for a particular space.
If you have already contracted with an architect to build your club or juice bar, that’s great, but make sure that you have a juice bar design expert look at the plans and tweak them, where necessary. The fact is, architects are not chefs, and they have probably never worked in a juice bar. So, getting a second opinion is always a good idea. It shouldn’t cost much for a second opinion, but it could save you thousands.
If the architect hasn’t begun drawing your juice bar, then ask them if you could save any money by having someone else design that space. Then, find an independent juice bar designer to work with you and your architect. Believe it or not, you may actually save money (architects tend to charge premium dollars for their work).
If you haven’t contracted with an architect, then by all means, shop around for a company that specializes in juice bar/café layout and design. There are companies which specialize in what you are trying to achieve and they may be even more familiar with health clubs. Health clubs may have challenges that an independent café or juice bar wouldn’t have. In addition, these companies will gain a true understanding of your demographics and the types of products you will be serving. They will adapt design and equipment specifications to fit your needs.
The most accurate guide you can use for determining the firm you select to assist you in designing your kitchen is the firm’s reputation in their field and word-of-mouth recommendations from associates in your field who have worked with the selected firm in the past. Once you verify the credentials of the firm with whom you have chosen to work, it is important to ascertain the range of services they are capable of supplying, and the cost of these services. Typically, you should work with one person in the firm throughout the entire project. This person will be knowledgeable in all phases of planning and design so as to assure continuity throughout the entire project.
Key Factors to Consider
There are several key factors to keep in mind when going through the design process. A qualified designer should cover all of the following within their scope of services:
• Juice bar or kitchen health department plan review
• Food service equipment – electrical, plumbing, and ventilation plans
• Implementation strategy of sanitation and health codes
• Utilities usage and waste
• Product offerings versus equipment requirements
• Labor savings as part of the design
• Space-saving efficiencies
• Construction build-out costs.
Other Advantages
Of course, there are many other advantages to utilizing the services of a qualified juice bar/café design and layout consultant that are not quantifiable. For instance, you may want advice on the quality of one brand versus another or advice on overall operational issues.
When your juice bar is designed, it should look great and look like part of your club’s motif. If the guts of your juice bar are awkward and either under- or over-built, it could cost you many dollars in inefficiencies over time, and it could cost even more dollars in expensive equipment you just don’t need. Remember this: No two juice bars are alike in the positioning of equipment, millwork, marketing or products offered. These factors need to function in synergistic harmony to make your juice bar the most efficient and attractive it can be.
Location
Don’t forget Location. This is a no-brainer. Position the juice bar somewhere between the locker rooms and the exit door – taking into consideration the plumbing location, of course. The plumbing alone could cause an unexpected, if not budget-busting, expense (especially if suddenly you were trenching a soil pipe 100′ through poured concrete – ouch!). Try to avoid this, if at all possible. If your club is located in a shopping village and there is visibility from the street or parking lot, try to utilize the glass windows. If marketed to the general public, you could attract 50% of your business from the outside.
Dan Young is President of Performance Food Centers, Corp. He is accomplished in juice bar concept and design as well as being certified in personal training and sports nutritio
