Designer behind the interiors of The Optimist, JCT Kitchen & Bar to renovate Midtown restaurant.
When Darren Carr opened The Lawrence four years ago, the business wasn’t an instant success. “It was off to a slow start,” Carr told What Now Atlanta (WNA) in a phone conversation Thursday.
The restaraunteur’s comments come as no surprise, as the restaurant is certainly located in a quieter part of Midtown, situated in a space home to two failed concepts (several locals commented that the restaurant was just what the neighborhood needed.)
Luckily for Carr, the restaurant did eventually blossom into a Midtown Atlanta staple.
“Business has been amazing, and we’ve decided it’s time to do a refresh.”
Smith Hanes Studio, a renowned Atlanta-based interior design, architecture and brand consultation firm, whose principal just happens to be a friend of the restauranteur and a regular of The Lawrence, will be leading the establishment’s forthcoming renovation.
“We don’t want our look to change, we just want to enhance what we’ve created.”
Renovation plans include adding booths, more controlled lighting, a new bar back, updated bar stools upholstered with aged leather, and a new bar-height communal table.
The restaurant’s iconic “Beautiful” signage hanging in the dining room will indeed go, and in its place will be three antique mirrors with lamps.
Hanes is behind the looks of several of the city’s most visually-appealing restaurant interiors, including those of The Optimist, Le Fat, Watershed on Peachtree, and JCT Kitchen & Bar.
Have you been to The Lawrence? What has your experience been with the restaurant? Tell us below….
2 Responses
Maybe they are adding term to their lease and the landlord is giving them some TI dollars, otherwise I can’t imagine why the owners would invest anything in the space as it works just fine as is and margins are thin in the industry without throwing $100k at purely aesthetic changes.
SB- you are a F idiot. Every restaurant should do a refress every 5 years or so.
This is going to be epic. Smith Hanes is a legend