2. A rustic and refined aesthetic
Though downscale dives and fast casual restaurants are emerging as huge segments, “upscale casual” is still a profitable and appealing restaurant niche, especially among Millennials. Albaugh points out that in the U.S. Earls restaurants, the brand’s clear and cohesive "refined industrial" aesthetic “relies on pulling in several authentic materials including stone, tile, steel, wood and cast-in-place concrete.” These hard elements are balanced by refined appointments such as button-tufted booths, a paneled ceiling and artistic lighting fixtures.
“Another theme Earls strives for is the use of real materials: no artificial veneers or plastics that replicate the appearance of something else; no tiles that look like wood or laminates that look like stone,” Albaugh says. “Marbles and granite are true stone; woods are solid or true wood veneers. Leathers are not plastic. Concrete and steel are honest and not disguised. Everything that’s there is the material as it is, and the uniqueness of each material is celebrated.” An added benefit of such materials is that they are generally sturdier, making for more durability in the very busy and often lively Earls restaurants.