The construction and labor costs associated with their standard format prototype challenged the business case to develop in these various locations. Cuhaci Peterson and the Parker’s development team knew that to find true cost savings we need to address more than a few finish materials. The real savings is in price per square foot, so we pursued development of a smaller format prototype. Along with an overall area reduction of 900 square feet we also worked to simplify the building design and structural configuration. We made small adjustments to a variety of elements, but we all agreed that any “value engineering” could not impact the brand.

The other element that we knew we could not negatively impact was the consistency that we had built into the program. Consistency is extremely important and if you want to achieve it, you often need to add specific information, like millwork. This may be something left in the hands of a subcontractor for a single project. However, you want that millwork to look the same no matter which Parker’s Kitchen you walk into and the specificity of details matter. Variables like contractors, regions or states can change but the customer experience must stay the same, with the goal being to deliver the same end product. To date, CP has delivered three prototypes plus mirrored versions. These prototypes have become the starting point of dozens of site-adapts and have established foundation for every Parker’s development.

In the end, it was CP’s willingness to listen to what is important to Parker’s Kitchen, understanding what is non-negotiable and then using expertise and knowledge, such as regional influences, jurisdictions and design tenets to make the program scalable and effective. Cuhaci Peterson has also utilized its expertise with other retailers to support Parker’s. One of our first sites at the Savannah Globe was cohabitated with a Starbucks. We supported this development by preparing the design documents for the Starbucks shell as well creating one of the most interesting Starbucks drive-thru experiences in the country.