New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
FAST FOOD NO MORE
Former McDonald’s, IHOP, other chains find new life as restaurants
The exterior of Cumin India Restaurant in Hamden or Bombay Olive in West Hartford may inspire a craving for pancakes. Both buildings have the steep pitched A-frame roof and white stucco siding that are signatures of classic IHOP buildings — and that’s because they used to be IHOPs. These and other Connecticut restaurants are housed in buildings that used to be fast food or chain restaurants. While they retain their original structures, they’re now independent businesses that serve a variety of cuisines. Like former banks, jailhouses and libraries that are now restaurants, their buildings tell a story, but it may or may not be one restaurant owners want to change.
One that’s stayed the same is Wilson Pizza Palace in Windsor. Manager Sydney Lambis said that the restaurant took over a former McDonald’s and instead of removing the Golden Arches from the building’s exterior, the owners flipped them upside-down to make W’s and painted them blue.
“Inside, too, we still have the original stained glass light fixtures (and) furniture,” Lambis said. “I wouldn’t mind renovating, but I don’t think our customers would like it.”
She said that the interior furniture was in good enough shape when the restaurant opened, so the owners kept it, and now it’s become something of an attraction.
“Many of them haven’t changed since the ‘80s,” said Jonathan Gordon of the interiors of chain restaurants. He is the lead designer and owner of
Design by the Jonathans
, a New Haven firm that works on commercial spaces, including restaurants.
Gordon said that it can be easy to update these spaces without ripping everything out by refinishing or painting over wood and changing light fixtures. But sometimes, a restaurant owner may want to keep original fixtures to create a retro atmosphere.
Or, some restaurants make changes out of necessity, like KPot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot. In a former Applebee’s, it installed specialty equipment at tables so customers can cook their own food.
“Dealing with a restaurant, you think about the food first and foremost,” Gordon said, explaining that one of the next factors in considering design is the atmosphere they want to create. With that information, a designer can start making choices about what colors and lighting to use.
Here's a look at how these Connecticut restaurants have transformed (or not) former fast food and chain restaurants.
Bombay Olive, West Hartford Former IHOP
Even though this restaurant kept its building — the A-frame IHOP retired in 1979, according to its website — guests can tell before they walk in that something different awaits inside. The door to Bombay Olive is made of intricately carved wood. Inside, booths have fan-shaped backs under stamped ceiling tiles.
The restaurant serves Indian food, but it also has a Persian menu that includes a sabzi platter and pilau rice dishes. A handful of Nepalese dishes, like momo dumplings are also on the menu.
Former McDonald’s
This James Beard Award-nominated Peruvian restaurant, named one of the top Latin American/ Caribbean restaurants by Connecticut Magazine’s panel of experts, is known for its drive-thru chaufa. While the drive-thru window is a nod to the building’s fast-food roots, the interior is bursting with bright color, and not the reds and yellows of your typical McDonald’s. An enclosed patio is draped with flower garlands.
The restaurant, in its second generation of family ownership, according to its website, turns out ceviches,
salads, chaufa fried rice, grilled chicken and more from the hands of chef Macarena Ludena.
Cumin, Hamden Former IHOP
This Indian restaurant has downplayed the chain restaurant features on its A-frame building. The original blue roof has been
painted brown, and the contrasting timbers on its front are now a compimentary creamy shade to its exterior stucco. Inside, the booths and carpet are a deep shade of red, with dark wood tables occupying the center of the dining room.
The menu has classic dishes like chicken tikka masala, vindaloo and samosas. Its Indo-Chinese section has dishes like gobi Manchurian and chili paneer.
I Luv Pho, Milford Former Dunkin’
This Vietnamese restaurant serves its namesake soup with rice noodles, in addition to bun cold noodle dishes and banh mi sandwiches in a very unassuming setting. The exterior and many of the fixtures look original to the restaurant’s Dunkin’ roots.
KPot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot, Orange Former Applebee’s
While the exterior of this building remains unchanged, the owners of
KPot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot had to install special equipment. Tables are set up so that guests can grill their own meats for Korean barbecue. They also keep broth warm for those who order hot pot.
The Orange eatery, which opened in June, represents the first Connecticut location for the KPot chain, which has about 30 restaurants nationwide.
Wilson Pizza Palace, Windsor Former McDonald’s
This restaurant truly embraced its roots. A Reddit board dedicated to ‘80s fast food calls the interior “untouched,” with plastic tables, banquettes and stools. On the exterior, the Golden Arches were flipped upside-down to make W’s and painted blue.
“Our regulars really like coming in and seeing everything the way it way,” Lambis, the manager, said.
True to its name, Wilson Pizza Palace serves pizza, as well as the usual dishes like calzones, mozzarella sticks and salads.