Sports bars have long suffered a stereotypical image – greasy, fat-laden food; intoxicated, loutish patrons; buxom-bimbo waitresses; and a headache-inducing din caused by numerous mega-screen TVs tuned to myriad contests with contradictory ebbs and flows that can leave visitors with a dizzying sensation (take it from someone with firsthand experience).
However, Atlanta’s sports fans with more refined tastes may now enjoy a more upscale spectator experience at Stats, which features sophisticated ambience with right-sized TV screens, gourmet fare such as grouper tacos and Thai steak-and-papaya salad, and, most importantly, compelling signage with nary a ball, beer mug or illegible font.
Concentrics Restaurant Group, which owns 10, urbane, Atlanta-based entries, hired Todd Vaught, principal of Atlanta-based sky design, to develop the environmental graphics. Subsequently, sky hired based Raydeo Enterprises (Ball Ground GA) to fabricate the system. He said his primary mission involved breaking the cookie-cutter, sports-bar mold.
“A high-end design concept was Concentrics’ top priority,” Vaught said. “They didn’t want to be perceived as a place with just chicken-finger baskets and big-screen TVs. And, because the restaurant is situated in a high-traffic area, visibility was vital.”
The key sign element comprises a brightly lit façade that bears numerals of differing sizes against custom, aluminum cabinets fit together to create unified composition.
According to John Mercure, Raydeo’s general manager, the company fabricated a 30 x 30-ft., backlit box with a perforated, plastic faceplate. To create the numerals, the shop fashioned 1-in.-thick, acrylic letters using a CNC router to cut, ledge and polish the plastic, perforated metal and white translucent diffuser film.
“The original design intent was maintained,” Mercure said. “We collaborated to achieve a balance of fabrication quality, cost and design intent. We engineered everything down to the screw holes.”
To create optimal cabinets, Mercure said standard extrusions weren’t suitable. Each cabinet had to support the above sign structures and, because the building didn’t offer sufficient structural backing, Raydeo produced a support structure made of 2 x 10 x ¼-in., aluminum tubing. To illuminate the cabinet, high-output fluorescent bulbs prevent 4,500K illumination.
Sky and Raydeo both played roles to embellish Stats’ interior. Vaught reinforced the numerical concept by carrying it through menus, tabletops, coasters and all other collateral promotional materials. Mercure’s fabrication team used 3-Form®’s composite-plastic material to create the rails and canopies for the restaurant’s bar and host stations.