Mi Casa, Su Casa
A rambling Mexican hacienda inspires On The Border’s latest prototype.

By Lisa Bertagnoli

Take an online tour of On The Border Photography by Todd Winters

Viewed even from the highway, the On The Border restaurant in West Des Moines, Iowa, looks like someplace youÕd want to visit. Stucco, stone and cedar blend to create an impressive structure, enlivened with touches of bright color.

The visual excitement continues inside. The vast space is divided into three distinct rooms, visible to each other through doorways, archways and windows. Guests enter into a stonewalled Òcourtyard,Ó complete with a vaulted timber ceiling, wrought-iron balcony and yellow-framed windows.

To the left is a bright-blue Òfamily roomÓ with sepia-tone photos and authentic Mexican artwork. To the right is a large bar, outfitted with bar-height tables and booths, including several tucked into the back wall.

Standing out among all that visual excitement is the star of the show, the Fajita Grill. Visible from nearly every point in the restaurant, the grill tempts guests with the sounds and aromas of sizzling meats and vegetables.

The Fajita Grill and all the other visual cues and textures make On The Border warm and comfortable, qualities that the most previous redesign lacked, says David Orenstein, president of the 120-unit, Dallas-based chain.

ÒIt didnÕt perform as well as we wanted and didnÕt get great consumer feedback,Ó Orenstein says of the 2002 prototype, which the company rolled to about three-fourths of the system.

A Fresh Perspective
So, in a rare move, On The Border turned to an outside design firm. ÒThey wanted a different set of eyes, a different perspective,Ó says Mark Lauterbach, vice president at RTKL Associates Inc., a Dallas-based design firm.

Lauterbach agrees with OrensteinÕs assessment of the old prototype. ÒIt was starting to look like a lot of other Mexican restaurants,Ó he says. ÒMy line was that if they added a drive-thru, theyÕd be just like Mexican fast food.Ó

Teamed with On The BorderÕs in-house design team, Lauterbach began working on the new prototype in February 2003. After interviewing On The Border management and researching the history of the concept, he presented On The Border with three themes: Fresca, which evoked a traditional Mexican market; Nuevo Mexico, modeled after the work of contemporary Mexican architect Luis Barragan; and Casa, which drew inspiration from a large, rambling Mexican home.

Casa resonated with On The Border executives. The visually stimulating, comfortable array of rooms Òwas really tied to the original concept,Ó Lauterbach says.

The Fajita Grill, too, harks back to the original design, which featured a tortilla-making station. The tortilla station Òwent away because of operational issues,Ó Lauterbach says, but the grill resurrects the idea of food made fresh for customers to see. ÒItÕs a conceptual idea that celebrates their most popular dish,Ó he says.

Fiesta for the Eyes
To make the design as authentic as possible, Lauterbach researched the use of stone and colors in Mexican haciendas, and On The BorderÕs design team traveled to Mexico to find photos and authentic artwork. ÒThis is a small version of a hacienda,Ó he says, the sole exception perhaps being the green light glowing from underneath the concrete bar. ÒThere was a bit of a push to make the bar a little edgy,Ó Lauterbach says.

The first new On The Border opened in February 2004 in Little Rock, Ark.; four more have since opened. Orenstein calls the new look a success, saying the company is pleased with the results. ÒAll openings have exceeded expectations,Ó he says.

The design has rolled out with few changes such as closing the distance between the bar top and the bar back.

Though Orenstein wonÕt give exact figures, a company spokesman says that the West Des Moines unit is on track to gross $3 million to $3.2 million this year, a figure higher than On The BorderÕs $2.75 million average unit volume noted in Brinker InternationalÕs 2003 annual report.

Orenstein says that guests give high marks to the Fajita Grill, the stone wall in the courtyard, and the bar. ÒItÕs a different feeling [from the older look], but they like it,Ó he says.

The design is a success operationally, too, according to Orenstein. Moving fajita production from the main kitchen to the grill ensures that servers deliver fajitas to customers hot, fresh and fast. Ticket times during opening weeks have run six minutes shorter, Orenstein says.

Rollout of the new look is off to a running start. On The Border opened five new units in fiscal 2004, and it plans eight to 10 in fiscal 2005 and 12 to 15 in Õ06. Orenstein will not say how much the prototype cost. The chain is holding off on remodels, because a majority of stores have been remodeled in the past two years.

Where that remodel focused on efficiency, this one concentrates on customers, Orenstein says. ÒItÕs relevant to todayÕs consumer looking for a unique design,Ó he says. ÒThe fresh cues are very important and relevant for todayÕs guests.Ó

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