GUERNSEY’s experience designing dining facilities reaches back more than 25 years. During that time, facilities have gone from the diner being offered a single entrée, to choosing between multiple entrees, menu items, salad bars, fruit bars, soup bars, dessert bars, potato bars and various drink stations. The concept of the dining facility which GUERNSEY’s designs, incorporates a pleasurable dining experience into what used to be a stale cafeteria environment. Today the food is fresher and more appetizing in a more pleasing atmosphere.

Modern dining facilities include serving and seating for 50 to 1,200 people per meal. Much of the cooking and preparation is occurring before the diner’s eyes while back kitchen designs include walk-in freezers and refrigerators, cold rooms for vegetable preparation, dry storage and docks for deliveries. Circulation within the facility is the key to providing a positive experience. Circulation includes queuing, serving lines, bussing lines and bringing food items to the patrons. All while maintaining ADA compliance both for patrons and workers.

GUERNSEY has designed facilities utilizing scatter or scramble systems, horse shoe, the tee and saw tooth serving line configurations. Seating area configurations include booths, table and chairs, and casual seating including couch and chair arrangements around televisions. Most facilities today are designed for both staff bussing and patron self bussing.

Since the dining experience offers a break in the day for most patrons, GUERNSEY’s interior design professionals create an environment allowing patrons a visual break. This can include breaking-up seating areas, providing abundant daylight lighting, modern color schemes and art work complimenting the décor - all which add to the dining experience.

GUERNSEY routinely develops dining facility projects and is able to provide all environmental, civil, architectural design, mechanical, electrical and security engineering.

David Oman, AIA Manager, Architecture Department 405-416-8259