 | << Back |
October 2002 Issue | |
Designing Caffe DemetreBy Jane Ayer | |
 Gary Theodore has marriage on his mind: the marriage of baked goods, ice cream, and coffee.“It’s a combo that makes for something spectacular,” says Theodore. Something spectacular is exactly what he’s made out of Caffé Demetre. What started as a bakery and café in the heart of Greektown on Danforth Avenue in Toronto has evolved into a franchised business with 10 locations throughout the Greater Toronto Area (and more in the works). It’s also evolved from a bakery into a dessert business, with cakes and sweets brought in from other bakeries such as LaRocca Creative Cakes and Baker Street, and each location making its own ice cream. “Ice cream is easy to do; baking was the harder part,” says Theodore. “So we made the decision to outsource bakery and work with the best cake-makers, and equip all our stores with ice cream-making equipment.” That decision has resulted in the creation of such decadent offerings as Texas Cheesecake Massacre (Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake, drizzled with mocha cheese, with a scoop of homemade tiramisu ice cream on the side, sprinkled with cinnamon), or Crust Fund (Caramel Crunch Cake with a scoop of homemade Caramella Pecan ice cream drizzled with butter-caramello sauce), to name just a few. Theodore has also made it his business to marry the functional with the fantasy, not just in the dessert creations each store offers, but also in the shops’ design. While each location needs to have certain key elements (an open kitchen with the dessert-making gear  at the forefront, the lunch assembly area more towards the back, dishwashing and office space hidden away), Theodore insists each café have its own style and look.“All the cafés have a different feel. We really look at the subtle nuances of an area, look at the demographics of the area, and figure out what defines that neighbourhood and how to mirror that in our stores,” says Theodore. “That’s how we decide if our decor needs to be fun or fancy, more upscale or more casual.” He avoids what he calls the “McDonald’s syndrome” (each store the same as the other) – which in the end means a higher cost. It’s worth it, says Theodore. “Every location is a fresh new project and it’ll take longer and it’ll be more expensive. Big deal. It’s different and it’s fresh and that’s what really matters.” After going through a series of designers who couldn’t do what he wanted, Theodore has finally found one who will ask for his input through to the completion of the project and will actually follow through on his ideas. He says it’s also important to find a designer who isn’t afraid to try something new and who isn’t afraid to make changes if the final result just isn’t want it should be. “We’ve completed many locations and had to change a lot of them, because they just didn’t have the right feel.”  Knowing your business’ identity and understanding how to reflect that in the design and colour and lighting is very crucial, suggests Theodore. “A chance to thrill and escape reality” is the phrase that’ll greet you on the opening page of the Caffé Demetre web site. It’s exactly what Theodore tries to capture in the design of each location. The soft lighting, warm tones of the walls and wooden accents of the Mississauga location are proof in point, making it a soothing place to escape to and relax; the thrill comes with the mouth-watering, hugely portioned desserts. Music is another aid to setting ambience and mood. Theodore uses a satellite system that gives each franchise hundreds of thousands of song options. “It makes it possible to change the music according to different times of day and to different crowds,” says Theodore. “If the crowd is older we’ll put on something softer, like Spanish music. At night we’ll maybe put on a little jazz. We never play any hard rock and roll or anything urban or country.” In the end, as the business owner, you know best what mood and atmosphere you want to create. Trust your instincts and your gut feeling, says Theodore. And don’t be afraid to change something if it just doesn’t work. “Sentience is very important, you really need to feel your way to the right decor.” | |