LaRosa's Pizzeria

Buddy LaRosa is a Cincinnati icon, a name identified in the area for 50 years with pizza.

But after a half-century of such close identification, LaRosa's wanted to become known as more than just a pizzeria.

“LaRosa's has three distinct businesses,” says Denny Gerdeman of Chute Gerdeman (Columbus, Ohio), which helped design the new concept. “It's a dine-in restaurant; a pizza delivery service; and a take-out provider of prepared and packaged foods.”

So for its new prototype in Centerville, Ohio (near Dayton), the restaurateur wanted to clarify the front end of the business. Customers walking into the new location needed to know where to go to place an order, pick up an order or wait for a table.

“It had to be clear that there even is a sit-down restaurant inside,” says Gerdeman, “and that it's clean, full-service, family-friendly and high-quality.”

Neon signage predominates the exterior of the 1950s-style diner, announcing “DELIVERY,” “CARRYOUT” and “DINE IN.”

A signage package inside the restaurant identifies the various zones – even a full-service bar, a little-known secret in the original LaRosa's, where only regulars knew that adult beverages were available in the back room. But the bar is kept separate from the dining room, so it doesn't interfere with the family environment (and so diners without children can avoid noise and interruptions if they wish).

However, notes Gerdeman, LaRosa's – while repositioning itself – didn't want to retreat from its heritage, either. “They tried to play on their legacy as an authentic local pizza parlor,” he says, citing the statistic that 80 to 90 percent of the $7 billion to $10 billion pizza market in the U.S. goes to mom-and-pop shops. “Pizza is very personal,” says Gerdeman, “and LaRosa's has built its business on community loyalty and service.”

Buddy LaRosa has always been heavily involved in local high school athletics in the Cincinnati area, so shadowboxes around the dining room feature jerseys of local teams – and can obviously be customized for the particular location. There's also a Buddy LaRosa Room, reserved for community meetings and team meals.

And then there's Luigi, the fictitious pizza chef who was the original LaRosa's brand icon and appeared on all the pizza boxes. To capitalize on this familiar mustachioed character, designers created “Luigi's Closet” stocked with toys. “It takes adults between 20 and 23 minutes to finish a meal,” says Eric Daniel, Chute Gerdeman's creative director of graphic design, “while kids finish in 10 to 12 minutes.” So the kids can select toys from the closet to play with while the adults linger at the table. But, says Daniel, “the rule is that the kids can go to the closet only after they've finished eating.”

Client: LaRosa's Pizzeria, Centerville, Ohio – Pete Buscani, executive vp, marketing; Kevin Burrill, executive vp, franchise development; Brian Cundiff, executive director, brand extension; Nick LaRosa, new store opening team; Dave Kirchgessner, construction manager, new store development

Design: Chute Gerdeman, Columbus, Ohio – Denny Gerdeman, principal; Wendy Johnson, executive vp, account management; Bob Welty, creative director, environments; Eric Daniel, creative director, graphic design; Carrie Aschman, environments designer; Mary Jane Picard, graphics designer; Susan Slewny, Steve Boreman, graphics production; Tina Burnham, graphics production coordinator; Nicole Vachow, director, visual merchandising