Real-time 3D/VR: How Pickleman's Gourmet Café scaled their prototype

Restaurant brand design is going virtual.

The emergence of virtual reality has brought a new wave of innovation commonly found with companies like NASA, Nintendo, and Google. But there’s another market that highly benefits from the services of virtual reality: restaurant brands.

Innovative technologies like three-dimensional virtual reality (3D/VR) are revolutionizing the realm of restaurant design, offering a dynamic platform for architects, interior designers, and restaurant brands to visualize and craft immersive dining experiences.

One brand was able to bring a new prototype to life with the help of 3D/VR – Pickleman’s Gourmet Café.

Doug Stritzel and his prototype idea

All great stories start with an opportunity.

Doug Stritzel, legendary founder and owner of Pickleman's Gourmet Café, had an idea for a new prototype in his head. This prototype would launch a fresh, new look for the brand he founded nearly 20 years ago (founded in 2005) – and would be the first Pickleman’s in Texas. He had the experience, the resources, the vision.

What he needed was the right partners to bring his vision to life. 

Introducing 3D/VR restaurant design

It wasn’t until Doug met with Restaurant Designer David Soskolne when his vision really began to take shape.

David Soskolne is a highly-talented designer, with extensive national restaurant brand experience for the front of the house. He’s the expert behind sleek seating, modern layouts, and the ever-important ADA compliances.

After speaking together, David connected Doug to Brian Morris, CSO of Concept Services, knowing Doug could benefit from Concept Services’ revolutionary 3D/VR design process. In just 4 weeks, Doug was able to turn the prototype vision in his head into a real-life concept.

 

The prototype goes from virtual to reality

With Doug’s forethought and vision combined with Restaurant Designer David Soskolne taking lead on Front of House and Concept Services focusing on Back of House operations, the Concept Services team – Director of Business Development Robert Williamson and Foodservice Designer Aaron Riojas – worked with David and Doug and made a stunning new prototype, both on budget and highly attractive. 

Nothing was left behind from conversation – every aspect of the prototype was discussed in detail to ensure brand consistency and operational efficiency. The best part? All talks were done in real time: no delays, no lags, no silences. Doug was able to immerse himself within the design, and with the help of Aaron altering the layout in real time, Concept Services was able to make changes on the fly. 

But the layout is only half of the story.

The success of the Real-Time 3D/VR prototype is attributed to Concept Services’ ability to design with a quoting tool plug-in. This plug-in allows clients to view the actual equipment that will be used with pricing as the layout is built. As the Concept Services team was building the layout in real-time, Doug was able to see a rough estimate of total equipment costs for his prototype before it was even finalized.

The quoting tool plug-in was the solution Doug was looking for to provide his franchisees the best equipment at the best price. This entire process not only resulted in faster decision making, but reduced costs overall.

Final Thoughts

That was only the beginning. Since then, buzz has ignited the franchisee community with the success of the McKinney, TX Pickleman’s location – the first of many locations in Texas. More prototype stores are in the works, as well as a few remodels: one in Omaha, NE; one in Lincoln, NE; and one in St. Louis, MO (SLU).

What started as Doug’s initiative to drive down costs and incorporate a fresh look to the Pickleman’s brand led to a favorable partnership that collaborated seamlessly. By combining Doug’s vision with VR technology, productivity was enhanced and resulted in a fully-fledged concept in just a few short months. Doug was able to step into the prototype, iterate designs in real-time, and make informed decisions that aligned with Pickleman's vision that he’s fostered since his brand’s conception.