Projects & Case Studies

• Client Projects
• Case Studies

Architects & Planners

Client Projects
Food & Beverage Services Scenario 1

Client with long-time incumbent foodservice operator is considering renegotiation with incumbent versus doing RFP:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

Cincinnati Museum Center Dallas Museum of Art Detroit Institute of Art Great Lakes Science Center1 Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens Museum of Science, Boston2

National Aquarium National Gallery of Art Ravinia Festival3 Seattle Aquarium The Jewish Museum Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders
• Study/evaluate the client-operator relationship
• Recommendation as to renegotiate or RFP including financial ramifications

• ¹ This client and client/neighbor Rock and Roll Hall of Fame engaged consultant to complete feasibility study and preliminary financial projections to develop 25K s.f. destination restaurant/dining and banquet/catering facility on the lake between the two institutions.
• ² Consultant also did study on a destination restaurant to be incorporated in museum long-range expansion plan. This included visitor research and presentation to the executive committee of the board.
• ³ At Ravinia Festival, Consultant also conceptualized and then programmed and planned a new dining pavilion with new destination restaurant, which included new restaurants and private dining.

Scenario 2

Client wants to conduct RFP for foodservice and/or retail/gift shop services and operations:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

Arena Stage Asian Art Museum August Wilson Center for African American Culture Cape Fear Botanical Garden Crocker Art Museum Currier Museum of Art Delaware Museum of Art Detroit Zoo Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Monterey Bay Aquarium Museum of Nature & Science Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Queens Botanical Garden The Field Museum The New Museum Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Woodland Park Zoo

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders.
• Management and administration of RFP process including contract and contract negotiations.
• Occasionally includes visitor, member and stakeholder foodservice market research first, with such research being provided to operators as part of the RFP package.

• ⁴ Assisted client with various tasks in the operator selection process, including RFP document development, proposal evaluation, finalist interviews, contract review and transitional management involvement.

Scenario 3

Self-Operation versus Outsourced Operation:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

Buffalo Bill Historical Center Delaware Museum of Art Friends of the National Zoo Grounds for Sculpture High Museum Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Los Angeles County Museum of Art (retail)

Los Angeles Zoo Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Milwaukee Art Museum San Francisco Zoo Science Museum of Minnesota (retail) Zoo Atlanta Grand Rapids Public Museum

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders.
• Extensive on-site observations of current operations/services.
• Benchmarking with other self-operated similar institutions.
• Evaluation of plans and operational criteria related to building a café in a new health center.
• Full review of client’s current foodservice and retail operations and investigation of potential outsourcing options within client’s geographic region.

• ⁵ A self-operated foodservice before a total renovation of the museum and opting to pursue a foodservice management company as the provider for their new museum.

Scenario 4

Self-Operation versus Outsourced Operation:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

Aquarium of the Pacific St. Louis Art Museum Audubon Zoo California Academy of Sciences (not the current foodservice, previous iterations) San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Seattle Aquarium Institute of Contemporary Art Walker Art Center Cape Fear Botanical Garden Hagley Museum and Library The Farmer’s Museum

Fenimore Art Museum National Children’s Museum Maymont Foundation William King Regional Arts Center Davis Museum and Cultural Center Stratford Hall Plantation The Reach Anchorage Museum of Art & History Calgary Science Center Detroit Historical Museum EdVenture Children’s Museum South Carolina State Museum Ringling Museum of Art

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders.
• Identify foodservice facility design project team member.
• Develop foodservice program and foodservice facility design working as part of the project team including the architect and client.

Scenario 5

Client has not done foodservice focused research ever, or in a long time, with visitors (both foodservice and non-foodservice customers), members, staff or volunteers (and usually board members) to determine if current foodservice meets or exceeds expectations. In the case of renovation, expansion or new programming, the goal is to determine expectations to be sure institution makes the best and most efficient use of foodservice space and associated capital costs:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

Friends of the National Zoo Los Angeles Zoo Monterey Bay Aquarium Museum of Science & Industry

Museum of Science, Boston National Gallery of Art Ravinia Festival6

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders.
• A combination of intercept, on-line/email, telephone and mail-in surveys.
• Comprehensive report with recommendations for improvements based on input from current and prospective customers

• ⁶ Completed four years ago due to client unhappiness with foodservice program, and operator used results to make improvements that resulted in increased satisfaction and per capita spending. Same work was done again in 2008 to ascertain guest satisfaction with new dining pavilion opened in 2007 as well as satisfaction with corporate catering.

Scenario 6

Operational assessment of current self-operated food and catering:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

Conner Prairie Grand Rapids Public Museum Grounds for Sculpture (Rat’s Restaurant) High Desert Museum

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Milwaukee Art Museum Smithsonian National Zoological Park (Friends of the National Zoo) Zoo Atlanta

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders.
• Extensive operational observations leading to specific recommendations regarding practices and procedures.
• Review of financial data and historical results to develop trend analysis and identify opportunity.
• Benchmarking operating results to similar institutions, both self-operated and outsourced, to determine scope of opportunities.
• Report and review of comprehensive report with recommendations for improvements based on factual data and observations.

Gift Shop Services Scenario 7

Operational Assessment: Client would like an assessment of current incumbent retail operator performance and recommendations to consider renegotiation with incumbent versus doing RFP:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

National Constitution Center

Strasburg Railroad

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders.
• On-site operational observations regarding practices, procedures, merchandising assortment, pricing thresholds, visual display standards, floor plan and traffic flow, fixturing, and signage.
• Review of financial data and historical results to analyze performance and identify opportunity.
• Benchmarking operating results to similar institutions, both self-operated and outsourced, to determine current performance and possible opportunities.
• Issue a comprehensive report with recommendations for earned commission improvements based on factual data and observations.

Scenario 8

Store Design: Client would like assistance with the design of a new and/or enlarged and renovated store:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

Sixth Floor Museum

White House Visitor Center

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders.
• On-site operational and programmatic observations regarding front-of-house and back-of-house procedures, merchandising assortment and specific display requirements, traffic flow analysis, fixturing, and signage analysis.
• Review of financial data and historical results to analyze performance and identify growth opportunity.
• Develop the retail design program for architect planning use. Programming document includes specific recommendations for space-to-sales ratios, space-to-stock ratios, square foot and linear foot display needs, traffic flow and key functionality recommendations (i.e., sales counter location), fixture types and quantities, lighting recommendations, and online kiosks.
• Work as part of the project design team on schematic design, design development and construction documentation.
• Review plans and elevations and assist with design presentations to Client.

Scenario 9

Retail Feasibility and Business Plans:

EXAMPLE CLIENTS

James A. Michener Art Museum MOCA Cleveland

Myriad Botanical Gardens

Consultant Activities

• Institutional orientation and interviews with key stakeholders.
• Conduct site and location analysis, including market access, depth and longevity. Identify location challenges and opportunities.
• Conduct benchmark study for purposes of identifying performance standards and realistic revenue and growth opportunities.
• Issue a comprehensive report that includes: high level executive summary, mission and goals, market evaluation, merchandising strategy, merchandising assortment recommendations, marketing strategy, start-up implementation costs, three-year P/L Pro-Formas, staffing and operational plan, business challenges, and key issues.