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New Branding on the Menu for Struggling Restaurants
Local design firm teams up with a Toronto television production to breath new life into ailing eateries.

Toronto may be the self-proclaimed advertising centre of Canada, but an Edmonton design firm is lending a helping eye and quick delivery to struggling restaurants from afar.  Sundial Graphics has signed an agreement with Tricon Films, producer of the television program “Restaurant Makeover” to provide project restaurants with new branding, menus, and other design and print services.  “Restaurant Makeover” is in its third season and until recently has focused on a complete physical and culinary overhaul spear-headed by top interior designers and executive chefs.  These top-guns have now been joined by the team at Sundial to revitalize the brand of these restaurants that are often on the brink of closure.  “As a long time fan of ‘Restaurant Makeover’ I often thought these great renovations and menus weren’t being done justice by the lack of branding and presentation” says founder and General Manager Ben Block.  “Sundial strives to assist businesses to ‘cast their shadow’ in a coherent way across all mediums and these restaurants certainly needed our help.” 

The timeframe in which the projects are completed is impossibly short for both the construction crew and creative process.  As the restaurant is being demolished and rebuilt, Sundial designers work quickly to incorporate the interior design theme into a new logo, menu, business card and other marketing materials.  From conceptual sketches to delivery, the entire process is executed in less than 5 days.  The finalized designs are then presented to the owners during the overall reveal and made available for implementation in print, online and in other mediums.  Working with the independent restaurateurs has been rewarding for Block and his team.  “The owners are all fantastic and have real character. It has been a pleasure to add some of that character to their business’ image that means so much to these people” says Block.  A strong identity, strategically crafted menu and coherent branding can lend a helping hand to a small business competing in a media rich environment.  Armed with these tools, the project restaurants stand a much better chance of being noticed and making the most of their new clientele. 

Sundial has competed six episodes and has been contracted for numerous upcoming projects. Block comments that “this has been a great opportunity for our designers to work on really exciting and rewarding projects, not to mention that the fruits of their labour will eventually be seen by millions of television viewers.”  Sundial has agreed to compete the current and next year’s seasons and looks forward to assisting these small businesses find new hope.