Why do restaurants feel the need to modernize their interiors?

[eyoungren]

I actually find it super interesting that you feel the new design is soulless while the old design is, what exactly, warm??

I would argue that "most" people would think the new design is warm and inviting while the old design is cold and loud.

I would argue that to OP, the old design is 'familiar'. And for some, 'familiar' is all they want - change is bad.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I had an instructor once (in the early 1990s) that was a young man during the 1950s. At the time I took his class there was some 1950s nostalgia. He was fond of telling us all that he had lived through that period and that there was crap during the 1950s (just like then) that was still crap 40 years later.

I love Gothic cathedrals, (and, once upon a distant time, I also used to teach medieval history), but you could not pay me to want to live in the Middle Ages.

Likewise, I love "old" buildings, but I also want modern conveniences.

Standards change - and yes, improve,

Not all changes are the result of "branding" or being a slave to fashion.

Nostalgia can blind people about the reality of things in the past.

Absolutely, and well said.

 

[eyoungren]

I love Gothic cathedrals, (and, once upon a distant time, I also used to teach medieval history), but you could not pay me to want to live in the Middle Ages.

Likewise, I love "old" buildings, but I also want modern conveniences.

Standards change - and yes, improve,

Not all changes are the result of "branding" or being a slave to fashion.


Absolutely, and well said.

Along the lines of this thread, since OP used Taco Bell.

There once was a place called Naugles in Southern California. It grew big and was very popular in the late 1970s up until about 1990. Naugles was a fast-food Mexican restaurant, just like Taco Bell and Del Taco.

1980s kids such as myself grew up on Naugles. But in the early 90s, Del Taco bought them out and all Naugles restaurants closed.

Mid-2000s and one of those 1980s kids was doing some research. He discovered that Del Taco had never utilized the Naugles logo and branding. Under US law, that meant that Del Taco had 'abandoned' the brand.

So, he claimed it. And Del Taco fought him and lost.

There are now three Naugles restaurants in Southern California. Serving up the same fare with the help from former employees and family members of the original family that started Naugles back in the 1970s.

But the decor is updated, and while the new branding is not much different than the old branding it too is fresh and updated while leaning on the nostalgic/classic feel of old Naugles.

And yet, about ten years later there are still only three restaurants.

My point is that nostalgia (not changing) is great, but you can't live there.

 

[MindYourMind]

I would argue that to OP, the old design is 'familiar'. And for some, 'familiar' is all they want - change is bad.

Yes, old designs are the known, and for a period of time with unpredictable duration, the “old” is comfortable because of familiarity. As long as that’s the case, evident change can bring in a sense of discomfort due to unfamiliarity. Until that particular preference for the “comfortable known” has run its course - then the comfortable appears as the uncomfortable and the uncomfortable as the comfortable.

 

[iStorm]

Times change. Fast food places were popular back then. People now realize they're unhealthy and want to eat healthier. I don't know about others, but Taco Bell 1998 reminds me of a greasy fast food joint, while Taco Bell 2022 somehow looks like a fancier, healthier place even though they may be serving the same food. I suspect that could be part of the reason for the change...to adapt to people's perception at the time. If I had to pick a place to eat based on only these two photos, I'd pick Taco Bell 2022.

Taco Bell was founded in the early 60's, so the 1998 pic isn't even the original look. I don't think many people would want to continue frequenting a place regularly that's getting stuck in the past. Many cities do have retro themed restaurants for those that like nostalgia.

Food for thought: Would something even become charming or nostalgic if it never did change?

 

[KaliYoni]

Did they conduct a study that proved that spending all that money to completely redo the interior increased revenue?

Taco Bell’s parent company is a global corporation with a gigantic market capitalization. So, yes.
(more precisely, it probably paid a management consulting firm such as McKinsey or Bain several million dollars to conduct the study)

Did individual store managers overhear customers saying, "Gee, I sure wish they'd change things in here.

That’s possible if Taco Bell has a formal system for collecting branch-level feedback. But it’s a lot more likely that both existing and potential customers expressed that opinion in multiple focus groups.

 

[RokinAmerica]

Along the lines of this thread, since OP used Taco Bell.

There once was a place called Naugles in Southern California. It grew big and was very popular in the late 1970s up until about 1990.

I worked and lived in Orange County in the early 80's, worked for a while on 3rd shift, and so we would drive over to the Naugles in I believe Anaheim(?) for lunch at night. Way better than either Taco Bell or Del Crappo. And such huge burritos! TY for the info, I live in San Diego so never even realized they had been gone.

 

[Analog Kid]

I've always wondered why restaurants like this spend all this money "modernizing" their interiors and abandoning their classic looks, given the fact that it seems that the majority (including me) would vote to keep it the way it was. Same goes for changing logos, color schemes, etc. It just seems like a waste of money to me and takes away the charm and nostalgia.

Same applies to the exteriors too.

I currently live in a house that has been unchanged in terms of interior styling since the early 80s and I wouldn't have it any other way! There's something comforting about that.

It's not a waste of money because they almost certainly needed to renovate anyway. If you opened your 80's house to hundreds of random people every day, you'd need to replace the furniture periodically.

Once you've realized you need to renovate, it opens the possibility to do it differently. Personally, I find the warmer earth tones of the second image much more comfortable. The first one was probably more exciting when they were trying to get attention on themselves.

 

[Silencio]

The classic Taco Bell look are those small brick buildings from the early 70s with all the archways that are almost completely unadaptable for drive-thru or other modern niceties. They often had large outdoor seating areas and very small indoor seating areas, at least in California. It's always interesting to see an old Taco Bell location and how subsequent owners / tenants of the buildings have adapted them, much like you can tell a former Pizza Hut, International House of Pancakes (pre-IHOP), or Der Wienerschnitzel location by the designs of the roofs.

Independent restaurants may have more leeway to be timeless institutions. Chain restaurants have to adapt with the times to keep customers coming in.

Ironically, I used to eat at Taco Bell multiple times per week, but haven't stepped foot in one for at least 20 years now. (And no, I don't use the drive-thru, either!)

Interesting that Naugles still exists in some form. I maybe ate at one once when visiting Southern California. That might be like someone bringing back Taco La Paz, which I can barely remember being any different from Taco Bell, anyway.

 

[eyoungren]

I worked and lived in Orange County in the early 80's, worked for a while on 3rd shift, and so we would drive over to the Naugles in I believe Anaheim(?) for lunch at night. Way better than either Taco Bell or Del Crappo. And such huge burritos! TY for the info, I live in San Diego so never even realized they had been gone.

Yes. Del Taco bought them out in 1995 and then buried them. There are certain elements of Naugles that are still reflective in the Del Taco menu (a macho fry for example) and for a short time there was a 'secret' Naugles menu at Del Taco. But eventually the brand was abandoned.

In the US, if a certain time goes by and a company does not use a logo for advertising or branding within that time period it can be claimed by someone else. That's exactly what the owners of the new Naugles did. Of course, it was contested in court, but Del Taco could not prove that they had used the logo between 1995 and 2009. So, the new owners won - which is why they can use it.

Dick Naugle's family got involved, original recipes were shared and the rest is now evident.

I lived in the San Gorgonio Pass area for 20 years and there was a Naugles at County Line Road off the 10 in Calimesa. Banning also saw a Naugles in the mid-80s. And, yeah, they blew away Taco Bell and Del Taco.

I live in Phoenix now, so finding all this out about 10 years ago was exciting. I'm glad to see they survived the pandemic.

 

[satcomer]

All I now in rural area in Finger Lakes the local McDonald's put in multiple robot ordering stations (with a credit card) to order food and a worker bring out the order number now! This really surprised me when I went one morning for their breakfast meal and it really surprised me!

 

[maflynn]

From time to time I see memes like this on Facebook:

Why do we move furniture around? Why do we paint the walls of our homes? Why do we add/remove pictures from the walls? Same reason restaurants do. They want to freshen up the look.

Just look at the pictures, those pastel colors are far from being in style and if restaurants don't keep up, they'll get a reputation of falling behind

 

[dmr727]

I'm surprised that's a Taco Bell from 1998. That picture looks straight out of 1988.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I'm surprised that's a Taco Bell from 1998. That picture looks straight out of 1988.

And a version of 1988 that thought it was inexplicably modern, at that.

 

[Silencio]

I lived in the San Gorgonio Pass area for 20 years and there was a Naugles at County Line Road off the 10 in Calimesa. Banning also saw a Naugles in the mid-80s. And, yeah, they blew away Taco Bell and Del Taco.

That is probably the exact Naugles I ate at. My grandparents lived in Cherry Valley, so we were always driving through Calimesa.

 

[eyoungren]

That is probably the exact Naugles I ate at. My grandparents lived in Cherry Valley, so we were always driving through Calimesa.

Really? Wow!

We lived in Redlands from 1980 to 1982 when my dad rented a house in Cherry Valley. The owners wanted their house back in 1984 so we had to find another home, but that was also in Cherry Valley.

So, I lived there from 1982 to 1997 when I married my wife. Had a place in San Bernardino, but got out of there for a place in Banning and didn't leave until 2000.

Small world!

 

[rhett7660]

Along the lines of this thread, since OP used Taco Bell.

There once was a place called Naugles in Southern California. It grew big and was very popular in the late 1970s up until about 1990. Naugles was a fast-food Mexican restaurant, just like Taco Bell and Del Taco.

1980s kids such as myself grew up on Naugles. But in the early 90s, Del Taco bought them out and all Naugles restaurants closed.

Mid-2000s and one of those 1980s kids was doing some research. He discovered that Del Taco had never utilized the Naugles logo and branding. Under US law, that meant that Del Taco had 'abandoned' the brand.

So, he claimed it. And Del Taco fought him and lost.

There are now three Naugles restaurants in Southern California. Serving up the same fare with the help from former employees and family members of the original family that started Naugles back in the 1970s.

But the decor is updated, and while the new branding is not much different than the old branding it too is fresh and updated while leaning on the nostalgic/classic feel of old Naugles.

And yet, about ten years later there are still only three restaurants.

My point is that nostalgia (not changing) is great, but you can't live there.

Oh man... Naugles... There is one still in Artesia California. If I remember correctly, we had one in Long Beach a looooooooong time ago. They had, or I think they still do the Tostada. Man that thing rocked!


Another one that comes to mind is Puff & Taco! If I remember correctly Puff and Taco was bought out or at least it felt that way by either Taco Bell or Del Taco... Can't remember which.

 

[eyoungren]

Oh man... Naugles... There is one still in Artesia California. If I remember correctly, we had one in Long Beach a looooooooong time ago. They had, or I think they still do the Tostada. Man that thing rocked!

Well, it's not the same company. Just for the record.

An Orange County food blogger won the rights to Naugles logo, trademark and branding sometime after 2009. Del Taco had abandoned it. While some members of the Naugles family are now involved it's a new company.

So, the Artesia restaurant is not a holdover. By 2000 all previous Naugles had been shut down or converted by Del Taco. This makes the Artesia restaurant new - under the new Naugles.

Just trying to clarify.

 

[Gregg2]

It's about market share. They study it all the time. If older locations are losing market share, they try updating the decor. If that didn't improve market share, they wouldn't do it.

 

[rhett7660]

Well, it's not the same company. Just for the record.

An Orange County food blogger won the rights to Naugles logo, trademark and branding sometime after 2009. Del Taco had abandoned it. While some members of the Naugles family are now involved it's a new company.

So, the Artesia restaurant is not a holdover. By 2000 all previous Naugles had been shut down or converted by Del Taco. This makes the Artesia restaurant new - under the new Naugles.

Just trying to clarify.

I kinda figured... but man that place brings back memories. Between them and the now defunct Puff & Taco... Early 80's introduction to Mexican food... Mexican Fast Food!

 

[eyoungren]

I kinda figured... but man that place brings back memories. Between them and the now defunct Puff & Taco... Early 80's introduction to Mexican food... Mexican Fast Food!

Yeah. For me, living out in the sticks (Cherry Valley, Calif.), going to Naugles was a treat. When the nearest grocery store is a five minute drive and the nearest fast food is 15-20 minutes, it takes at least some minor planning.

 

[rhett7660]

Yeah. For me, living out in the sticks (Cherry Valley, Calif.), going to Naugles was a treat. When the nearest grocery store is a five minute drive and the nearest fast food is 15-20 minutes, it takes at least some minor planning.

Is that by Banning or somewhere in that area?? I keep wanting to say, it is close to Apple Valley lol... but off to google to check!

I have pretty much been in and out of LAC and OC for the better part of 30 years.

 

[eyoungren]

Is that by Banning or somewhere in that area?? I keep wanting to say, it is close to Apple Valley lol... but off to google to check!

I have pretty much been in and out of LAC and OC for the better part of 30 years.

Cherry Valley is just north of Beaumont, which is just west of Banning. Highland Springs Road divides Beaumont from Banning and Brookside divides south Cherry Valley from north Beaumont.

Although, Beaumont would argue Cherry Valley starts at Cherry Valley Boulevard. Bastards made a land grab north in the mid-90s. Cherry Valley is unincorporated.

Keep going north of CV and you run past the east end of Yucaipa and into Oak Glen.

Edit: I lived there from 1982 to mid 2000.

 

[rhett7660]

Cherry Valley is just north of Beaumont, which is just west of Banning. Highland Springs Road divides Beaumont from Banning and Brookside divides south Cherry Valley from north Beaumont.

Although, Beaumont would argue Cherry Valley starts at Cherry Valley Boulevard. Bastards made a land grab north in the mid-90s. Cherry Valley is unincorporated.

Keep going north of CV and you run past the east end of Yucaipa and into Oak Glen.

Edit: I lived there from 1982 to mid 2000.

Gotcha... I want to say we have only driven through the area. Beaumont and Banning for sure.

Small world I tell yeah!

 

[eyoungren]

Gotcha... I want to say we have only driven through the area. Beaumont and Banning for sure.

Small world I tell yeah!

Yeah, most people only know it because they're heading to Palm Springs or the factory outlets/Morongo casino. That's Cabazon though at that point.

With the outlets and the casino and people working in Orange County looking for less expensive homes, the area just expanded a lot after we (my wife and I) left in 2000.

Small world, yes!