Some restaurants are blessed with location, location, location and naturally draw in customers. Others need to create a buzz about their room in order to appeal to those seeking a meal. That’s where great design comes in.

“Vancouver has so many restaurants, so many good ones, you need a space that’s special if you want to stand out from the crowd,” says Marilou Rudakewich of M Studio Design Consultants, which has worked on the Refinery, Chill Winston, Deuce, and the Ocean Club. “The most successful restaurants are those where the menu, the interior design, and the service are all in sync,” Rudakewich says.

Jay Brooks of Box Interior Design (responsible for Trattoria Italian Kitchen, Market by Jean-Georges, and the Vancouver Art Gallery café) concurs with Rudakewich’s observation. “Before we talk to a restaurant owner about design, we talk about their business,” Brooks says. “Location, target demographics, menu prices—they all play a part.” In other words, not all concepts work in all parts of the city. Brooks cites Market as a case in point.

“We couldn’t have made a casual restaurant on the third floor of the first Shangri-La Hotel in Canada, especially one run by a celebrity New York chef,” Brooks says. Market thus reflects the glamour of the hotel and the superstar status of chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Similarly, a trend-centric tapas lounge concept that draws crowds in Yaletown with its pricey art-on-a-plate will likely receive a cold reception in more casual Kits.

The power of good restaurant design actually extends to the sidewalk. “A Zagat review might draw me to a space, but when I get to the storefront I want to make sure it has a good vibe and interesting design, something that draws me into the room,” Rudakewich says. She adds that she recommends the Robson Street location of Hapa Izakaya to out-of-town guests—and not just because her firm is designing an expansion of the room to accommodate a sake lounge. “The space marries beautifully with the menu,” she says. “Both are unique, so [they] add up to a unique dining experience.” At Hapa, the Japanese aesthetic is suggested rather than literal: low-slung tables punctuate a stylish, dark interior that’s warmed by backlit shoji-screen-inspired columns.

Brooks stresses that, in the restaurant business as in the fashion business, even good design has a limited shelf life. “There’s a life span to some things,” he says, pointing to the Glowbal Group’s decision to move Coast from Yaletown to a new 8,000-square-foot space on Alberni Street and rework the old location with a different concept.

Fraser Boyer, managing partner with the Mark James Group (owners of DIX, the Flying Beaver, and other brew-focused eateries), agrees that both décor and restaurant concept can quickly become dated.

“It’s more than changing tables and chairs,” Boyer says of renovations that are under way at the Yaletown Brewing Company. “We’re doing a total rebranding. The design of the room goes with a complete change in the menu, the staff uniforms, all of it.” He notes that a lot has happened in the Yaletown dining scene since YBC opened 14 years ago. “The casual diner is more inclined to go someplace ‘current’,” Boyer says, stating that his target market is very savvy when it comes to media, fashion, and ever-changing trends. “Our target market’s currency is whatever is current,” he says, “so we have to trade in that same currency if we want to stay competitive.”

As a result, the new YBC—which is slated to open in early June—will take into account what the brew-pub concept means in 2009. “It’s not a biker bar, nor is it slick or upscale,” says Brooks, who is overseeing the reno. Expect to find beer-kegs-cum-light-fixtures rather than dainty chandeliers. “YBC isn’t a premium casual-dining location, but it is someplace where people want to hang out. The design portrays that message, and is used to distinguish the place.”

That said, Boyer knows décor alone won’t make or break a place. “But it is part of the bigger package,” he says. “You only get one shot with a new customer. It’s critical the design be good, but the food, drink, and service have to work with it. Décor is the stimulus for the eyes. It’s part of the energy of the room. If it’s comfortable, folks will like being there, and they’ll want to come back.”

Ever the restaurateur, Boyer says that although décor may draw folks in, it’s great food and service that keep them coming back. When asked if he remembers the heyday of the Only Seafood Café—a Downtown Eastside diner notoriously lacking in ambiance—Boyer laughs. “There is nothing more beautiful than an ugly room full of people,” he says.