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Solving the challenge of restaurant design from the ground up
Peter Niemitz began training for his career as a restaurant designer at a very early age. When he was 4 years old, Niemitz already was building model cars, tree houses and forts. By the time he reached second grade, he had moved on to making three-dr mensional models of houses he found pictured in The New York Times. "As far back as I can remember, I had always wanted to be an architect," Niemitz says. Throughout his life the 45-year-old restaurant designer never has lost his passion for architecture. These days Niemitz is hard at work, juggling more than 40 projects at one time. His namesake design firm, Niemitz Design Group, which is based in Boston, is focused solely on the foodservice and hospitality industries with a client list that includes Legal Sea Foods, Capital Grille and Walt Disney - a project that encompassed nine American-themed restaurants at EuroDisney in Paris.
Foodservice operators who have worked with Niemitz over the years say one of his biggest strengths as a designer is that he takes the time to understand their restaurant concepts. One of Niemitz's oldest clients is Boston-based Legal Sea Foods. Niemitz, who began working with the company in 1980, has designed most of the restaurants in the 17-unit chain. "He has evolved with us," says Roger Berkowitz, the head of the Legal Sea Foods chain. "His design is a great representation of how we have evolved in different venues. He works with us. He doesn't play catch-up, and he isn't too far ahead. In terms of our menu and service development, he keeps pace with it." Berkowitz adds that Niemitz has played an important role in helping the chain expand into airports, particularly a recent 1,600-square-foot location that includes an oyster bar, a dining area and a retail component.
We knew we could manage the operations, but we didn't have any idea how to do the look and have it be appealing," Berkowitz says. "The look Peter came up with - it blew all of us away. He really got it."
In addition to his work with Legal Sea Foods, Niemitz gained nationwide recognition for creating the look for such New York institutions...