Facility Design Project of the Year
Brain Food Court At The Museum Of Science And Industry, Chicago
By Staff -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 5/1/2003
 Built into servery structures over the salad (above), deli and grill stations are transparent cylinders, surrounded by plastic soffits, which will be used as projection screens for educational purposes. Photos by Dirk Fletcher |
From the moment preliminary discussions began about redesigning the foodservice at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, this project was destined to be remarkable. "We wanted visitors to walk into the dining space of the museum and feel as though they had been transported out of the old building [opened in 1893] and into a new dimension," explained Andy Zakrajsek, the museum's director of business operations. "We wanted this new restaurant to capture guests' fascination just as the exhibits do in other parts of the museum."
In addition to creating an inspiring, interactive and educational space that was in line with the museum's mission statement, the foodservice project team's mission also was to create a more cost-effective and efficient operation than was previously available.
The team Zakrajsek and Nancy Wright, vice president of Guest Services for the museum, assembled to turn their antiquated foodservice into a memorable, interactive experience for museum visitors included architects Bill Aumiller and Keith Youngquist, principals, and project managers Boris Cubas and Laura Kulis at Aumiller Youngquist of Chicago; and foodservice consultants Robert Pacifico and Richard Stolarczyk from Romano-Gatland of Woodstock, Ill. After the project was in process, Sodexho was hired as the foodservice provider, with Paul Johnson as general manager and John Stranick as executive chef. TriMark Marlinn of Chicago was the equipment dealer and installer. Also involved in the project were Angela Williams and Amber Liu, graphic designers from MSIC's Creativity department.
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 One of the servery's main attractions is a six-foot-in-diameter charbroiler, which rotates as it cooks meat, poultry and fish. |
Logistically, the project was daunting to construct. "We previously had three separate restaurants and three separate kitchens," Zakrajsek noted, adding that these facilities had been installed or renovated multiple times beginning in the late 1930s. The entire 21,000-square-foot space was gutted and rebuilt to include a 5,300-square-foot servery; three dining areas seating 525, occupying a total of 7,700-square-feet; a 845-square-foot coffee/snack bar called the Brain Food Café; a 5,500-square-foot kitchen; and 1,400-square-foot employee lounge.
The cost of the project was $8 million, which included building upgrades of approximately $2 million. The cost of E&S was $1.2 million for kitchen and servery equipment, including installation; other features, including furniture, POS and computer systems, smallwares and graphics and signage, totaled $395,000. As Brain Food Court customers enter the restaurant, they step onto a durable terrazzo floor set with 17 different colors arranged in swirling patterns. Warm-colored walls and wood "petals" in curved shapes that hang down from the open ceiling surround the comfortable, yet contemporary space brightened by a combination of lighting fixtures. Low-voltage lighting over the servery, for example, helps make the food displays stand out and sparkle.
Five main food-concept stations are centrally located and easy to navigate. The Grill, to the left of the entry, includes a six-foot diameter rotating charbroiler and round exhaust hood, which is a key feature in the food "show."
Also in this station are a gas-fired pizza oven and induction cookers inlaid into an arc-shaped serving counter for display preparation. Behind the grill are work counters, a double overshelf, a refrigerated counter prep station, fryers and fryer dump station, compact undercounter and base refrigerators, a reach-in refrigerator, reach-in freezer and cold pans. A counter grill, broiler and griddle are used as back-up during busy periods.
 A square-shaped production area in the back kitchen is highly efficient according to Sodexho's Paul Johnson. Included in the kitchen's line-up (at left) are a convection steamer, convection steamer with a kettle, tilting skillet and range. Across a wide aisle with a center workstation are a cold-holding box and a bank of double-stacked convection ovens. |
Other stations include the freestanding Salads and Soups, Deli, Favorites, and Pizza and Pasta. At these stations, drop-in pans can be both hot or refrigerated for changes of menu items on a daily basis or to accommodate future trend changes. Sneeze guards are completely adjustable to allow self-serve or staff-served meals at all stations.
Action counters at the main stations are designed with a step-up and rails so customers can safely come forward to watch food preparation. This encourages customers to become part of the excitement and encourages curiosity, as with other museum exhibits.
Because of high traffic, materials were also selected for durability and attractiveness. The quartz top surface used on servery counters, for example, combines a sleek, sparkly look with an enduring hardness that is safe for foodservice and NSF-approved. Few cutouts were made into the countertops, supporting future flexibility.
Adjacent dining areas are open and airy, with soft lighting, wood panels and dropped pendant lighting, creating a comfortable and flexible environment for families and friends to relax and exchange impressions about their museum experiences. Curved glass walls carve out the dining space, while small pockets of tables are combined to create a cozy feeling. Flexibility was ensured here with freestanding chairs and tables that can be reconfigured for larger parties and special events. In the central dining room, a curved glass wall changes color across the spectrum through the use of LED lighting.
 In the BOH kitchen, a convection steamer (left), a steamer with a kettle, a tilting skillet and range support the servery's operations, as well as special catered events. |
Constructing so finely detailed a project of this magnitude required ingenuity in meeting routine and special problems. Zakrajsek and the project team were challenged to develop a facility that could accommodate 1,000 visitors one day and perhaps 7,000 the next. The solution was to devise food-concept stations that could be interchanged. Lighting at individual service points allows some stations to be used during breakfast (served mainly to staff), for example, while other stations that aren't used are dark. In addition, flexibility was built in by not theming the stations. "If a new food trend emerges," Pacifico explained, "the existing signage and menu boards would be the only items to be replaced." In addition, stations are pre-wired for future equipment changes or additions.
Undoubtedly the most challenging aspects of the project were encountered as a result of the museum's age. The mechanical systems were outdated and had been installed or retrofitted during different decades. A complete overhaul and replacement of electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems had to be included in the construction time frame and budget. Also part of the old structure were six-foot-deep masonry walls that separated the three existing restaurant spaces. "The plan required minimum penetrations through these walls to keep structural costs within budget," Zakrajsek said. "The resulting plan separates two main dining areas from the stations. Therefore, each of the main dining areas can be closed off during slower periods."
For saving labor and making labor more efficient, the refrigeration system uses a parallel system that monitors the walk-in coolers/freezer and keeps the units cold even if a compressor breaks down. "This type of protocol system is supermarket technology applied to foodservice," explained Pacifico.
In addition, all cooking equipment is on casters for ease of cleaning, broilers are infrared for short pre-heat time and faster recovery, and the pot washing system uses a circulating pump that speeds up the washing process of the pots. Also contributing to labor savings is the ability to shut down complete stations and offer menu items on a smaller scale.
Honorable Mentions
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Another component of the museum project was the Brain Food Café, located off of the Lower Court, one of the most highly visited areas of the museum. The addition of undulating metal soffits with signage in the Lower Court leads visitors back to the Brain Food Court.
When Zakrajsek concluded that, "The museum has never had anything like this," he was referring not only to the lively environment and food choices, but also to a new foodservice that invites customer curiosity and promotes education. Because of the E&S installed in the servery and kitchen, this venue will undoubtedly continue to intrigue those in the foodservice industry, as well
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