Kinsey Architecture - Jinja Restaurant, Santa Fe architects, Santa Fe architecture

The owners of Jinja Restaurant were interested in remodeling their existing establishment which was not doing well. It had originally been designed as a very spare and cold interior space. As a result, it was not an environment that people felt comfortable staying in for any length of time.

Since this was an Asian restaurant, we chose to design the interiors as warm and inviting conducive to more intimate settings, while also allowing flexibility for large groups when necessary. The design concept became more detailed as we realized that in fact what the restaurant needed was "Branding". The owners wished to take this idea to other markets and possibly franchise the concept with this initial flagship restaurant acting as a model for future development. Not only were the image and setting of the restaurant highly researched, but the design of every aspect of the concept including the appearance of the menus, plates, flatware, drinking glasses, and even the attire of the servers.

The design and branding concept has become so successful that two additional Jinja restaurants have opened in Albuquerque with future expansion planned. (this project was done in conjunction with IDS)