Facility Design Project of the Month

Each month, FE&S spotlights a project worth talking about, with in-depth coverage from concept through completion including a kitchen equipment floor plan.

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Restaurant R’evolution at the Royal Sonesta Hotel New Orleans

During its short life, R'evolution has drawn extraordinary attention from the industry, customers and the media. Just as the history of New Orleans is one of amalgamation, chefs Folse and Tramonto will continue to make use of contemporary equipment technology to create imaginative interpretations of classic Creole and Cajun dishes. The experience of dining in this restaurant will undoubtedly leave a positive and memorable culinary and aesthetic impression.

Design Capsule

  • Ownership: Home on the Range: Folse Tramonto Restaurant Development LLC, in partnership with the Royal Sonesta Hotel New Orleans
  • Location: New Orleans
  • Opened: June 4, 2012
  • Size: 6,000 square feet, which features a 4,000-square-foot workspace, including a 2,850-square-foot back-of-house main kitchen, a 1,044-square-foot expo kitchen, beverage area and bar
  • Seats: 200 total; 158 in 6 unique dining spaces separated by pocket doors; 42 at the bar. Five dining rooms can be privatized to accommodate groups from 6 to 40.
  • Average Covers: 130 per week; 180 per week, Friday and Saturday; aiming for 200 per week for dinner and 100 per week for lunch
  • Average Check: Lunch, $30; dinner, $80
  • Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.
  • Menu Specialties: Appetizers: Creole loggerhead turtle soup with fino sherry; brick-oven-roasted bone marrow with pickled radishes and crostini, and salumi platters. Main courses: pecan-smoked Berkshire pork shank with brussels sprouts, spiced pecans, and root beer bubbles; crawfish-stuffed flounder Napoleon with artichoke and oyster stew. Desserts: white chocolate bread pudding crème brûlée with lemon-scented apricots and salted bourbon-caramel sauce; chicory-mocha pots de crème with coffee-infused beignets and black fig jam.
  • Staff: 90
  • Total Project Cost: $6.5 million
  • Equipment Investment: $880,000
  • Website: www.revolutionnola.com

Key Players

  • Executive Chefs/Partners: John Folse and Rick Tramonto
  • Chef de Cuisine: Chris Lusk
  • Pastry Chef: Erin Swanson
  • Wine and Spirits Director: Molly Wismeier
  • General Manager: Muhammad Salahuddin
  • Architects: The Johnson Studio, Atlanta; Bill Johnson, AIA, senior principal/partner; Brian W. Finkel, AIA, NCARB, principal; and Randy Miller, AIA, project manager
  • Interior Design: The Johnson Studio, Atlanta; Anna McGrady White, NCIDQ, interior designer
  • Kitchen Design: NOLA Restaurant Supply and Design, New Orleans, a division of Louisiana Foodservice Equipment Inc. in Alexandria, La.; Dustin Bennett, estimator and designer
  • Initial Designer: Loubat Equipment Co., New Orleans
  • Contractor: Landis Construction Co., New Orleans
  • Equipment Dealer: NOLA Restaurant Supply and Design