Few of us wish to relive adolescence. And yet, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee places adolescent turmoil at the center of its world, forging a relationship with the audience that sparks empathy and enjoyment at a uniquely adolescent setting—a spelling bee.
Playing at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights, Spelling Bee features six spellers—and four quickly eliminated audience members—competing for a spot in the national spelling bee finals. High on energy and substance, the musical comedy's spelling bee environment--set in a middle school gym complete with Putnam Panther banners and basketball hoop--serves as the ideal meeting ground for the endearing sextet, each of whom possesses eccentricities that challenge even the most flexible of social norms.
With the spelling bee allure heightened by ESPN and ABC broadcasts of the actual annual national competition as well as movies such as Akeelah and the Bee and Spellbound, Spelling Bee's basic premise—middle school students battling in this intellectual challenge—resonates with audiences increasingly seeking quirky, offbeat and hearty looks at the present-day world.
Yet, in a contrast to recent popular productions like Glee and High School Musical, flashy song-and-dance, teen-centric creations that suit today's audio-visual pulse, Spelling Bee's charm resides in its lovable characters.
There is the guarded and stern William Barfee (James Nedrud), an intense, bespectacled lad whose mother tells him he'll be good looking someday and who uses his magic foot to spell words, as well as the lisp-troubled Logainne Schwartzandgrubiennaire (Justine Klein), whose two dads stress winning at all costs and have inspired the youngster to run her elementary school's gay-straight alliance.
There is Marcy Park (Amy Malouf), whose intentional misspelling of camouflage showcases the fragility and sincerity of the bee's competitors, and Chip Tolentino (Ryan Hunt), the Boy Scout whose elimination coincides with the untimely arrival of a puberty-spurred condition.
Each speller comes to the bee with a back story and baggage as compelling and unique as the next, giving the show heart and depth beyond the methods each contestant employs to spell words.
To the show's credit, director Robin Hughes' ensemble cast resists any shallow, stereotypical characterization of these quirky spellers, all of whom might politely be termed outcasts. Rather, each individual cast member creates a well-rounded, robust character grounded in sincerity and optimism, displayed in individual opening numbers that provide necessary background insight.
Patrick Tierney could reduce Leaf Coneybear to an outlandish character plagued by hyperactivity and hypnotic trances, but there's a depth and lovingness to Tierney's portrayal that delivers spunk and makes Coneybear a favorite. Likewise, Kristine Burdi could sink into Olive Ostrovsky's role as a forgotten child, rejecting the optimism, hope and candor that turns the character from depressed to delightful. She does not, however, and Ostrovsky's character becomes heartfelt and honorable for Burdi's effort.
The childish antics of the six spellers are complemented by three well-rounded adult characters: Vice Principal Douglas Panch (Michael Herschberg), the bee's judge, whose improvisational skills bring added laughter; moderator Rona Lisa Peretti (Stephanie Souza), a spelling bee winner turned realtor, who brings a soft voice and calming presence to an environment that risks falling into simple-minded slapstick; and criminal-turned-consoler, Mitch Mahoney (Bear Bellinger), whose community service duties have him handing out juice boxes to eliminated contestants.
Yet, the spirited Spelling Bee experience travels beyond the characters. Celebrated songwriter William Finn's tunes, executed by energetic voices, provide added dimension to the two-hour show, offering balance to the fast-paced dialogue. Audience interaction and pop culture references ground the story in the present. And the Metropolis' cozy theater grants intimacy to a performance that relies on an involved, responsive audience.
The collection of lovable characters, devoted performances, song and dance elevates Spelling Bee to the must-see level with a comedic yet still heartfelt production that makes one's two-hour return to adolescence well worth the investment.
Friday, November 5, 2010
At 30 years, Theology on Tap still going strong (Catholic New World, July 4, 2010)
At a Champaign pizzeria in the spring of 1981, a youthful Tim Leeming pulled Father Jack Wall into a private conversation and offered an impromptu confession.
“Father, I’m doing well here at school academically and socially, but I don’t know why I’m doing the things I’m doing and it seems to me that my faith should be a resource,” the University of Illinois student told the priest.
That modest, innocent conversation set in motion a whirlwind of events that would spark a young adult ministry revolution — first in the Chicago area, then the nation and now the world.
When Wall and his colleagues from St. James returned to the Arlington Heights parish from their campus visit, the group sat down to establish a forum for the deeprooted questions young adults like Leeming held. Wall’s team proposed a summer program — five evenings on five spiritual themes — hoping the series would help young adults draw closer to God.
Someone casually tossed out the title “Theology on Tap,” a name that survives today as the program enters its 30th year in the Archdiocese of Chicago and introduces itself to the worldwide stage.
Immediate results
When Theology on Tap hosted its first event at St. James Parish in June 1981, 200 college-aged guests attended. Immediately, the organizers noted the series’ promise and, even more, the introspective, spiritual elements it inspired.
“We could see right away that this was touching a need. The room was filled with an amazing balance of social energy and theological input,” Wall said.
Early momentum established, Theology on Tap surged forward in the summer of 1981. On the program’s second night, more than 400 attended.
The question then became: Now what?
In the summer of 1982, Wall and his colleagues asked the series’ original five speakers to present at five new archdiocesan locations, thereby sending Theology on Tap’s first ripple in the young adult stream. St. James, meanwhile, hosted five new speakers in its second run. The following summer, Theology on Tap expanded to a dozen Chicago- area sites.
“The best ideas have a simplicity to them and Theology on Tap is like that. It was adaptable and readily replicable and people jumped on board,” Wall said.
Broad vision
Father John Cusick, one of Theology on Tap’s original five speakers, noted the program’s energetic response and impact with an oft-overlooked group. Heading the archdiocese’s young-adult ministry office, Cusick envisioned dioceses across the country holding similar programs and began planting seeds for that transformation. Cusick and his staff, including longtime associate Kate DeVries, began crafting a more formal program and inviting other dioceses to replicate the series.
In 1994, the Diocese of Joliet ran Theology on Tap. Later, the dioceses of Rockford, Gary (Ind.), Milwaukee and Madison (Wis.) adopted the program. Cusick’s office, meanwhile, assembled a manual detailing best practices and presented a program to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002. Regularly, the Chicago office was answering calls from other dioceses eager to establish Theology on Tap.
“When something is good, its momentum grows,” DeVries said. “The young adults responded, the parishes and dioceses responded, and Theology on Tap took off well beyond Chicago.”
By late 2003, Theology on Tap had outgrown its modest Chicago office and its even more ambitious vision. Cusick met with RENEW International, an established faithformation organization based in New Jersey, to discuss folding Theology on Tap into their expansive outreach efforts, a partnership realized on Jan. 1, 2007.
Despite the program’s expansion into 48 states and seven countries, however, Theology on Tap remains a staple of Chicago’s young-adult office. Heading into its 30th year, 215 area sites have hosted nearly 4,200 programs. “We love it and want it to go on forever,” DeVries said.
Answering a need
While Theology on Tap has adopted a post-collegiate focus, it has not veered from its focus on young-adult concerns, chiefly vocational and relational issues. Using faith as the tool, the annual four-week summertime program offers an experience that invites individual introspection in an atmosphere of others exploring the same personal issues of career, love and a meaningful life. It’s offered in a casual environment with promises of food, drinks and socializing.
“The program keeps growing precisely because there is a spiritual hunger in our young adults and an absence of places to feed that hunger in today’s world. Theology on Tap is the answer to this,” DeVries said.
Involved in ministry work during her high school and college years, Cynthia Kogol felt a faith void when she graduated from Loyola University. Struggling to find any spiritually rooted program that addressed her concerns as she entered a new phase in life, her parish priest directed her to Theology on Tap in 2009.
“It’s rewarding to be able to share my faith with others and gain a different perspective on issues, such as Mass and prayer,” the 27-year-old LaGrange resident said.
Now entering its 30th year, Theology on Tap celebrates three decades of fostering personal friendships as well as individual bonds with the church and one’s faith, something that astonishes Wall. “I’m touched that it continues to speak to peoples’ hunger for a spiritual life and reminds us all just how informative faith can be,” Wall said.
“Father, I’m doing well here at school academically and socially, but I don’t know why I’m doing the things I’m doing and it seems to me that my faith should be a resource,” the University of Illinois student told the priest.
That modest, innocent conversation set in motion a whirlwind of events that would spark a young adult ministry revolution — first in the Chicago area, then the nation and now the world.
When Wall and his colleagues from St. James returned to the Arlington Heights parish from their campus visit, the group sat down to establish a forum for the deeprooted questions young adults like Leeming held. Wall’s team proposed a summer program — five evenings on five spiritual themes — hoping the series would help young adults draw closer to God.
Someone casually tossed out the title “Theology on Tap,” a name that survives today as the program enters its 30th year in the Archdiocese of Chicago and introduces itself to the worldwide stage.
Immediate results
When Theology on Tap hosted its first event at St. James Parish in June 1981, 200 college-aged guests attended. Immediately, the organizers noted the series’ promise and, even more, the introspective, spiritual elements it inspired.
“We could see right away that this was touching a need. The room was filled with an amazing balance of social energy and theological input,” Wall said.
Early momentum established, Theology on Tap surged forward in the summer of 1981. On the program’s second night, more than 400 attended.
The question then became: Now what?
In the summer of 1982, Wall and his colleagues asked the series’ original five speakers to present at five new archdiocesan locations, thereby sending Theology on Tap’s first ripple in the young adult stream. St. James, meanwhile, hosted five new speakers in its second run. The following summer, Theology on Tap expanded to a dozen Chicago- area sites.
“The best ideas have a simplicity to them and Theology on Tap is like that. It was adaptable and readily replicable and people jumped on board,” Wall said.
Broad vision
Father John Cusick, one of Theology on Tap’s original five speakers, noted the program’s energetic response and impact with an oft-overlooked group. Heading the archdiocese’s young-adult ministry office, Cusick envisioned dioceses across the country holding similar programs and began planting seeds for that transformation. Cusick and his staff, including longtime associate Kate DeVries, began crafting a more formal program and inviting other dioceses to replicate the series.
In 1994, the Diocese of Joliet ran Theology on Tap. Later, the dioceses of Rockford, Gary (Ind.), Milwaukee and Madison (Wis.) adopted the program. Cusick’s office, meanwhile, assembled a manual detailing best practices and presented a program to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002. Regularly, the Chicago office was answering calls from other dioceses eager to establish Theology on Tap.
“When something is good, its momentum grows,” DeVries said. “The young adults responded, the parishes and dioceses responded, and Theology on Tap took off well beyond Chicago.”
By late 2003, Theology on Tap had outgrown its modest Chicago office and its even more ambitious vision. Cusick met with RENEW International, an established faithformation organization based in New Jersey, to discuss folding Theology on Tap into their expansive outreach efforts, a partnership realized on Jan. 1, 2007.
Despite the program’s expansion into 48 states and seven countries, however, Theology on Tap remains a staple of Chicago’s young-adult office. Heading into its 30th year, 215 area sites have hosted nearly 4,200 programs. “We love it and want it to go on forever,” DeVries said.
Answering a need
While Theology on Tap has adopted a post-collegiate focus, it has not veered from its focus on young-adult concerns, chiefly vocational and relational issues. Using faith as the tool, the annual four-week summertime program offers an experience that invites individual introspection in an atmosphere of others exploring the same personal issues of career, love and a meaningful life. It’s offered in a casual environment with promises of food, drinks and socializing.
“The program keeps growing precisely because there is a spiritual hunger in our young adults and an absence of places to feed that hunger in today’s world. Theology on Tap is the answer to this,” DeVries said.
Involved in ministry work during her high school and college years, Cynthia Kogol felt a faith void when she graduated from Loyola University. Struggling to find any spiritually rooted program that addressed her concerns as she entered a new phase in life, her parish priest directed her to Theology on Tap in 2009.
“It’s rewarding to be able to share my faith with others and gain a different perspective on issues, such as Mass and prayer,” the 27-year-old LaGrange resident said.
Now entering its 30th year, Theology on Tap celebrates three decades of fostering personal friendships as well as individual bonds with the church and one’s faith, something that astonishes Wall. “I’m touched that it continues to speak to peoples’ hunger for a spiritual life and reminds us all just how informative faith can be,” Wall said.
The Ultimate Food Fight (October 2010)
Matt Loney isn’t taking anything for granted or ignoring any competitor. He insists he knows better, a product of an early professional education on the restaurant industry’s ebbs and flows.
The youthful president of Stevi B’s, an Atlanta-based pizza-buffet franchise that has earned acclaim for its specialty pizzas, Loney has witnessed grocery stores gain a larger slice of the restaurant pizzeria world’s business.
“Our data shows that people eat pizza six times a month and, on average, they’re getting that pizza from a grocery store well over two of those times, a full point rise from just three years ago,” Loney says. “The grocery store is now almost accounting for half of all pizza consumption.”
Such a reality compelled Loney and his Stevi B’s team to fashion a response that includes highlighting the brand’s specialty pizzas and rethinking the restaurant’s to-go business. At pizzeria offices throughout the nation, similar conversations are occurring as operators seek to regain fleeing business.
“In the last two years, we’ve seen an entire night of pizza consumption shift to the grocery store category,” Loney says. “That alone is reason to be aware and cognizant of the retail sector.”
Yet, this is not pizza’s battle alone.
In grocery stores across America, prepared and ready-to-eat meals are gobbling up share—not at a breakneck pace, but at enough of a clip to spark trepidation. From chicken to Chinese egg rolls, macaroni and cheese to meat loaf, pasta to pot roast, America’s grocery stores are expanding their culinary horizons, directly pursuing the foodservice dollar while touting the convenience of retail for other personal purchases.
A recent report from market research firm Packaged Facts titled “Prepared Foods and Ready-to-Eat Foods at Retail: The New Competition to Foodservice” noted grocery’s gain amid the restaurant industry’s recessionary struggles. As consumers shifted from spending at restaurants to saving dollars and dining at home, supermarkets pounced with more diverse ready-to-eat offerings, competitive prices, and one-stop-shop positioning.
Half of the report’s nearly 1,900 U.S. respondents said they were more likely to eat dinner at home today than three months ago—with nearly one-third doing so “a lot more.” Meanwhile, 64 percent said they purchased a prepared meal from a grocery store within the last month.
“Prepared foods are a retail offering that’s come into its own,” says David Morris, the report’s chief analyst. “It’s definitely entered the mainstream from the foodservice perspective and achieved great strides in terms of quality, breadth of offerings, and major players to make it more competitive.”
The study’s findings highlight the grocery channel’s direct assault on quick service, an onslaught that’s gaining momentum. Projections are that prepared meal sales will reach $14 billion in 2011, a 7 percent jump over 2010.
“I don’t think there’s reason to panic, because to some extent we’ve always competed with grocery for a share of the stomach,” Loney says. “At the same time, we can’t deny that the grocery stores are competition and the quick-service segment has to be willing to evolve. If quick-service leaders aren’t aware of grocery stores’ efforts, they certainly should be.”
The intensifying competition has inspired confidence in grocery channels, many of whom tout the segment’s vast potential and continue to experiment in the relatively young field. Although not a new battle, it’s surely an escalating one.
“Retail should definitely be on the radar of any restaurant operator,” Morris says. “It’s a competitor that can, will, and is stealing share, as consumers use prepared food as a substitute for the restaurant meal.”
Competition Heats Up
Although grocery stores began flirting with prepared meals as early as the 1970s, the last decade witnessed the most intense and rapid growth. Well before the recent economic shift, grocers activated more robust and attractive prepared meal programs to lure in consumers craving convenience, value, variety, and healthier choices. In many cases, grocers altered their deli service models and renovated stores to reflect their new focus on consumers claiming neither the time nor interest to cook.
“The grocers saw restaurants taking more market share and people turning away from their retail stores, so they made an aggressive play to get back in the game by championing convenience, which is what these prepared meals are all about,” says Suzanne Long, a retail practice leader with New York–based SSA & Company.
Publix, a grocery chain based in the South, is one such player. Focusing on two-career families and time-starved customers, the supermarket upped its investment in ready-to-eat meals a decade ago, creating a variety of prepared food offerings, such as steaks, seafood, chicken, and sandwiches.
“Over time, we grew the category based on trends and diversified our offerings to meet consumer desires,” Publix spokeswoman Dwaine Stevens says.
With positive consumer response, the movement accelerated at grocery stores—big and small, private and public—across the country. Even amid recessionary pressures, the play has been a positive one for the grocery segment. From February 2009 to February 2010, grocery stores, long mired in decline, welcomed 4 percent sales growth.
“Today, the grocery channel embraces the prepared meals idea precisely because it has driven sales in a positive direction,” says Steve Johnson, the head of Foodservice Solutions in Tacoma, Washington. “Even more, they’ve realized that they can build consumer loyalty by serving fresh food.”
Johnson, who blogs about the so-called “grocerant” segment and serves as an industry consultant, says grocery stores have done a strong job of positioning their ready-to-eat products as healthier alternatives to restaurant fare.
“Many options are fresh, sustainable, and local, all of which creates a perception of healthy,” he says.
Indeed, prepared grocery store offerings have evolved from their primitive roots with rotisserie chicken and potato salad. Today’s leading grocery stores, and even a few local players, have created a litany of ready-to-eat options well beyond the norm.
Market District offers a line of smoothies. Buehler’s Fresh Food features crab cakes and beef burgundy on its rotating “Dinner for 2” menu. Dean & DeLuca provides a salmon chowder, while Metropolitan Market sells homemade comfort foods like turkey pot pie. Safeway’s Lifestyle stores host sandwich and sushi stations. Publix offers ready-to-eat kids meals and, in one newer Florida location, a 4,500-square-foot culinary-prepared food experience with more than 80 entrées, including kung pao scallops and cedar-plank salmon.
“There are more choices than ever and that’s real empowerment,” Johnson says. “Overall, the restaurants overlooked the reality of this momentum and how it allowed households to bundle. The grocery channel can offer something compelling and powerful to consumers.”
Perhaps no chain, however, has better characterized the grocerant growth than Whole Foods, the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods. Whole Foods positions meal stations throughout its stores, many of which capitalize on the company’s fresh image by offering regional fare.
“You might walk into a Whole Foods at dinner time and the aisles might be empty, but there will be a crowd at those meal stations,” Johnson says.
This is not a passing trend, Johnson says, but rather a swelling competitive reality. He points to a number of supermarket brands creating private-label items to jolt their prepared-meal offerings, as well as convenience stores, which are joining the prepared meals game as well. Later this year, Walgreens will trial individual prepared meals, such as wraps and soups, at many of its outlets.
For Publix and many of its supermarket brethren, the year-over-year growth has spurred continued investment and experimentation.
“There’s customer demand and popularity here,” Stevens says. “Consumers are flocking to these venues to take care of their household’s needs, and we want to fulfill their expectations.”
All of this attention to foodservice comes at a fortuitous time for grocery stores.
“Grocery stores provide supplementary food products and that can keep the customer in-house even as the recession wanes,” Morris says. “That’s an important consideration here as we move forward.”
Defense to Offense
In late July, the NPD Group, which has been tracking in-home eating habits and foodservice trends over the last 30 years, projected that the need for prepared meals would continue to grow over the next decade. Driven largely by convenience, the report surmised, restaurants and supermarkets both have opportunity to claim the consumer’s dollar.
Generating restaurant business, however, will not happen by accident.
Morris says restaurants must enhance their value proposition with price and quality messaging, customer-service initiatives, and convenience to maintain their relevance with consumers. Fundamentally, quick serves must ensure that their menus can compete on value and quality, the two most prevalent factors in consumer eating decisions. For $10 at a grocery store, a customer can purchase a rotisserie chicken, two side dishes, bread, and a drink. Quick serves will need to match that value proposition to ward off this challenge.
“As an operator, you have to recognize that people can and will go elsewhere,” Morris says.
To defend their quick-service brands, operators will have to migrate with a customer that is dynamic, not static. Stevi B’s Loney and his team have investigated building a separate to-go window, simplifying online ordering, and launching aggressive marketing initiatives, such as bounce-back offers to spur to-go sales, all efforts to counter grocery’s competitive momentum.
Additional quick-service solutions include selling at various distribution points, creating smaller units, and licensing. Take-and-bake options, which allow consumers to enjoy a restaurant-quality meal in minutes at home, also offer opportunity.
“In today’s crazy world, dinner doesn’t happen when everyone expects it to,” Long says. “The question becomes: What can restaurants do to appease consumer lifestyles?”
An additional key, Morris says, resides in restaurants offering items that consumers are drawn to and which cannot be easily replicated. That’s why Loney feels confident that Stevi B’s can withstand the supermarket assault in the short and long term.
“We have pizzas you can’t get anywhere else, so that’s a real advantage,” he says, pointing to his specialty offerings like the Macaroni and Cheese Pizza and Loaded Baked Potato Pizza as prime examples. “By better informing our customers, we can make a dent in the business we’re losing to grocery stores.”
One unusual solution Long sees is the opportunity for collaboration, specifically to make restaurant-branded products available in supermarkets. Publix recently opened a Carrabba’s Italian Market in its Sarasota, Florida, outlet—a relationship filled with optimism for both the grocer and the casual-dining chain.
“This is an underutilized spot with plenty of opportunity,” Long says. “Why can’t there be the Taco Bell taco bar, KFC-branded chicken and cole slaw, or branded barbecue ribs in the service delis? There’s an opportunity here to leverage the restaurant brand in the grocery store to draw more customers in.”
Such partnerships are something Stevi B’s pursued, but ultimately rejected. Loney cited the supermarkets’ cash-for-product-placement initiatives and fears about cannibalizing the product and sparking tension with franchisees as pressing concerns he could not overcome.
“You weigh all of this out and you see that it’s just not a viable option, and our energy is better placed elsewhere to grow the top line,” Loney says.
Amid the intensifying competition, quick-service restaurants can take solace in one reality: This is no slam dunk for the grocery stores. The customer coming in solely for a prepared meal is far from the norm, as supermarket visits are still driven by the need to shop for a variety of items.
More importantly, supermarkets have struggled with supply chain issues, portion size, and shelf life, trailing well behind restaurants in operational efficiency and the ability to collectively leverage convenience, location, quality, and value. Many supermarkets are looking at brand advantage and are often unwilling to pursue the operational advantages that could propel them to new heights, Long says.
“And ultimately, this could be their downfall and lead to many struggles,” she says.
But for Loney, and many other quick-service operators, the battle rages on. Solutions are sought, new avenues pursued, and counterattacks launched. Nothing can be taken for granted.
Sidebar: Now even Walgreens is competition?
In August, Walgreens unveiled its new expanded food selection in 10 Chicago communities identified as food deserts, or areas that lack access to basic foods necessary to maintain a healthy diet. The company redesigned the stores, located on Chicago’s South and West Sides, to include more than 750 new food items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meats and fish, pasta, rice, beans, eggs, whole grain cereals, and other meal components.
“We immediately made a commitment to seek solutions for offering these communities more fresh and healthy food options,” says Mark Wagner, Walgreens executive vice president of operations and community management.
Walgreens is also reviewing opportunities to bring its expanded food selection to other food deserts across the country.
“We know this issue is not exclusive to Chicago,” Wagner says. “We have more locations in America’s underserved communities than any other retailer. That makes us well positioned to play a role in addressing this important need beyond Chicago.”
The youthful president of Stevi B’s, an Atlanta-based pizza-buffet franchise that has earned acclaim for its specialty pizzas, Loney has witnessed grocery stores gain a larger slice of the restaurant pizzeria world’s business.
“Our data shows that people eat pizza six times a month and, on average, they’re getting that pizza from a grocery store well over two of those times, a full point rise from just three years ago,” Loney says. “The grocery store is now almost accounting for half of all pizza consumption.”
Such a reality compelled Loney and his Stevi B’s team to fashion a response that includes highlighting the brand’s specialty pizzas and rethinking the restaurant’s to-go business. At pizzeria offices throughout the nation, similar conversations are occurring as operators seek to regain fleeing business.
“In the last two years, we’ve seen an entire night of pizza consumption shift to the grocery store category,” Loney says. “That alone is reason to be aware and cognizant of the retail sector.”
Yet, this is not pizza’s battle alone.
In grocery stores across America, prepared and ready-to-eat meals are gobbling up share—not at a breakneck pace, but at enough of a clip to spark trepidation. From chicken to Chinese egg rolls, macaroni and cheese to meat loaf, pasta to pot roast, America’s grocery stores are expanding their culinary horizons, directly pursuing the foodservice dollar while touting the convenience of retail for other personal purchases.
A recent report from market research firm Packaged Facts titled “Prepared Foods and Ready-to-Eat Foods at Retail: The New Competition to Foodservice” noted grocery’s gain amid the restaurant industry’s recessionary struggles. As consumers shifted from spending at restaurants to saving dollars and dining at home, supermarkets pounced with more diverse ready-to-eat offerings, competitive prices, and one-stop-shop positioning.
Half of the report’s nearly 1,900 U.S. respondents said they were more likely to eat dinner at home today than three months ago—with nearly one-third doing so “a lot more.” Meanwhile, 64 percent said they purchased a prepared meal from a grocery store within the last month.
“Prepared foods are a retail offering that’s come into its own,” says David Morris, the report’s chief analyst. “It’s definitely entered the mainstream from the foodservice perspective and achieved great strides in terms of quality, breadth of offerings, and major players to make it more competitive.”
The study’s findings highlight the grocery channel’s direct assault on quick service, an onslaught that’s gaining momentum. Projections are that prepared meal sales will reach $14 billion in 2011, a 7 percent jump over 2010.
“I don’t think there’s reason to panic, because to some extent we’ve always competed with grocery for a share of the stomach,” Loney says. “At the same time, we can’t deny that the grocery stores are competition and the quick-service segment has to be willing to evolve. If quick-service leaders aren’t aware of grocery stores’ efforts, they certainly should be.”
The intensifying competition has inspired confidence in grocery channels, many of whom tout the segment’s vast potential and continue to experiment in the relatively young field. Although not a new battle, it’s surely an escalating one.
“Retail should definitely be on the radar of any restaurant operator,” Morris says. “It’s a competitor that can, will, and is stealing share, as consumers use prepared food as a substitute for the restaurant meal.”
Competition Heats Up
Although grocery stores began flirting with prepared meals as early as the 1970s, the last decade witnessed the most intense and rapid growth. Well before the recent economic shift, grocers activated more robust and attractive prepared meal programs to lure in consumers craving convenience, value, variety, and healthier choices. In many cases, grocers altered their deli service models and renovated stores to reflect their new focus on consumers claiming neither the time nor interest to cook.
“The grocers saw restaurants taking more market share and people turning away from their retail stores, so they made an aggressive play to get back in the game by championing convenience, which is what these prepared meals are all about,” says Suzanne Long, a retail practice leader with New York–based SSA & Company.
Publix, a grocery chain based in the South, is one such player. Focusing on two-career families and time-starved customers, the supermarket upped its investment in ready-to-eat meals a decade ago, creating a variety of prepared food offerings, such as steaks, seafood, chicken, and sandwiches.
“Over time, we grew the category based on trends and diversified our offerings to meet consumer desires,” Publix spokeswoman Dwaine Stevens says.
With positive consumer response, the movement accelerated at grocery stores—big and small, private and public—across the country. Even amid recessionary pressures, the play has been a positive one for the grocery segment. From February 2009 to February 2010, grocery stores, long mired in decline, welcomed 4 percent sales growth.
“Today, the grocery channel embraces the prepared meals idea precisely because it has driven sales in a positive direction,” says Steve Johnson, the head of Foodservice Solutions in Tacoma, Washington. “Even more, they’ve realized that they can build consumer loyalty by serving fresh food.”
Johnson, who blogs about the so-called “grocerant” segment and serves as an industry consultant, says grocery stores have done a strong job of positioning their ready-to-eat products as healthier alternatives to restaurant fare.
“Many options are fresh, sustainable, and local, all of which creates a perception of healthy,” he says.
Indeed, prepared grocery store offerings have evolved from their primitive roots with rotisserie chicken and potato salad. Today’s leading grocery stores, and even a few local players, have created a litany of ready-to-eat options well beyond the norm.
Market District offers a line of smoothies. Buehler’s Fresh Food features crab cakes and beef burgundy on its rotating “Dinner for 2” menu. Dean & DeLuca provides a salmon chowder, while Metropolitan Market sells homemade comfort foods like turkey pot pie. Safeway’s Lifestyle stores host sandwich and sushi stations. Publix offers ready-to-eat kids meals and, in one newer Florida location, a 4,500-square-foot culinary-prepared food experience with more than 80 entrées, including kung pao scallops and cedar-plank salmon.
“There are more choices than ever and that’s real empowerment,” Johnson says. “Overall, the restaurants overlooked the reality of this momentum and how it allowed households to bundle. The grocery channel can offer something compelling and powerful to consumers.”
Perhaps no chain, however, has better characterized the grocerant growth than Whole Foods, the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods. Whole Foods positions meal stations throughout its stores, many of which capitalize on the company’s fresh image by offering regional fare.
“You might walk into a Whole Foods at dinner time and the aisles might be empty, but there will be a crowd at those meal stations,” Johnson says.
This is not a passing trend, Johnson says, but rather a swelling competitive reality. He points to a number of supermarket brands creating private-label items to jolt their prepared-meal offerings, as well as convenience stores, which are joining the prepared meals game as well. Later this year, Walgreens will trial individual prepared meals, such as wraps and soups, at many of its outlets.
For Publix and many of its supermarket brethren, the year-over-year growth has spurred continued investment and experimentation.
“There’s customer demand and popularity here,” Stevens says. “Consumers are flocking to these venues to take care of their household’s needs, and we want to fulfill their expectations.”
All of this attention to foodservice comes at a fortuitous time for grocery stores.
“Grocery stores provide supplementary food products and that can keep the customer in-house even as the recession wanes,” Morris says. “That’s an important consideration here as we move forward.”
Defense to Offense
In late July, the NPD Group, which has been tracking in-home eating habits and foodservice trends over the last 30 years, projected that the need for prepared meals would continue to grow over the next decade. Driven largely by convenience, the report surmised, restaurants and supermarkets both have opportunity to claim the consumer’s dollar.
Generating restaurant business, however, will not happen by accident.
Morris says restaurants must enhance their value proposition with price and quality messaging, customer-service initiatives, and convenience to maintain their relevance with consumers. Fundamentally, quick serves must ensure that their menus can compete on value and quality, the two most prevalent factors in consumer eating decisions. For $10 at a grocery store, a customer can purchase a rotisserie chicken, two side dishes, bread, and a drink. Quick serves will need to match that value proposition to ward off this challenge.
“As an operator, you have to recognize that people can and will go elsewhere,” Morris says.
To defend their quick-service brands, operators will have to migrate with a customer that is dynamic, not static. Stevi B’s Loney and his team have investigated building a separate to-go window, simplifying online ordering, and launching aggressive marketing initiatives, such as bounce-back offers to spur to-go sales, all efforts to counter grocery’s competitive momentum.
Additional quick-service solutions include selling at various distribution points, creating smaller units, and licensing. Take-and-bake options, which allow consumers to enjoy a restaurant-quality meal in minutes at home, also offer opportunity.
“In today’s crazy world, dinner doesn’t happen when everyone expects it to,” Long says. “The question becomes: What can restaurants do to appease consumer lifestyles?”
An additional key, Morris says, resides in restaurants offering items that consumers are drawn to and which cannot be easily replicated. That’s why Loney feels confident that Stevi B’s can withstand the supermarket assault in the short and long term.
“We have pizzas you can’t get anywhere else, so that’s a real advantage,” he says, pointing to his specialty offerings like the Macaroni and Cheese Pizza and Loaded Baked Potato Pizza as prime examples. “By better informing our customers, we can make a dent in the business we’re losing to grocery stores.”
One unusual solution Long sees is the opportunity for collaboration, specifically to make restaurant-branded products available in supermarkets. Publix recently opened a Carrabba’s Italian Market in its Sarasota, Florida, outlet—a relationship filled with optimism for both the grocer and the casual-dining chain.
“This is an underutilized spot with plenty of opportunity,” Long says. “Why can’t there be the Taco Bell taco bar, KFC-branded chicken and cole slaw, or branded barbecue ribs in the service delis? There’s an opportunity here to leverage the restaurant brand in the grocery store to draw more customers in.”
Such partnerships are something Stevi B’s pursued, but ultimately rejected. Loney cited the supermarkets’ cash-for-product-placement initiatives and fears about cannibalizing the product and sparking tension with franchisees as pressing concerns he could not overcome.
“You weigh all of this out and you see that it’s just not a viable option, and our energy is better placed elsewhere to grow the top line,” Loney says.
Amid the intensifying competition, quick-service restaurants can take solace in one reality: This is no slam dunk for the grocery stores. The customer coming in solely for a prepared meal is far from the norm, as supermarket visits are still driven by the need to shop for a variety of items.
More importantly, supermarkets have struggled with supply chain issues, portion size, and shelf life, trailing well behind restaurants in operational efficiency and the ability to collectively leverage convenience, location, quality, and value. Many supermarkets are looking at brand advantage and are often unwilling to pursue the operational advantages that could propel them to new heights, Long says.
“And ultimately, this could be their downfall and lead to many struggles,” she says.
But for Loney, and many other quick-service operators, the battle rages on. Solutions are sought, new avenues pursued, and counterattacks launched. Nothing can be taken for granted.
Sidebar: Now even Walgreens is competition?
In August, Walgreens unveiled its new expanded food selection in 10 Chicago communities identified as food deserts, or areas that lack access to basic foods necessary to maintain a healthy diet. The company redesigned the stores, located on Chicago’s South and West Sides, to include more than 750 new food items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meats and fish, pasta, rice, beans, eggs, whole grain cereals, and other meal components.
“We immediately made a commitment to seek solutions for offering these communities more fresh and healthy food options,” says Mark Wagner, Walgreens executive vice president of operations and community management.
Walgreens is also reviewing opportunities to bring its expanded food selection to other food deserts across the country.
“We know this issue is not exclusive to Chicago,” Wagner says. “We have more locations in America’s underserved communities than any other retailer. That makes us well positioned to play a role in addressing this important need beyond Chicago.”
From the grounds up: The future of fair trade (U.S. Catholic, November 2010)
Sunday Mass has ended at St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church in Fairfax, Virginia, and parishioners are filing out. Deb Caskey stands in waiting, a smile on her face, a mission in her soul, and a table filled with coffee and chocolate at her side.
It's "Fair Trade Sunday" at St. Mary's, and Caskey is in overdrive.
There's a ripple effect to the day's purchases, Caskey explains. The coffee comes from farmer cooperatives in Africa and Latin America, while the chocolate comes from Ghana. The purchase of a fair trade product today, Caskey reminds her fellow parishioners, helps create life-changing opportunities for poor producers and their communities in these nations. Fair trade allows front-line workers to earn a "fair" wage by cutting out the usual mechanisms of trade that divert income from the producers.
"The Holy Spirit churned in me to get more connected," Caskey says of the fair trade sales she runs at St. Mary's at least six times each year. "You feel your work helps build better lives."
Caskey's journey into the fair trade world has been one of reflection and purpose.
In November 2008 she and her husband traveled to Costa Rica, one of Central America's purported "wealthier" nations. "But I only saw extreme poverty over and over," she says. "That trip opened my eyes and made me even more committed to fair trade."
Seeing poverty firsthand, she says, opened her eyes to ways in which she could be a more responsible consumer at home. She soon began evangelizing as a Catholic Relief Services fair trade ambassador for the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia as well.
"Catholic social teaching tells us the life and dignity of the human being is foremost. We are all called to serve and help, and fair trade is one way to make that happen," Caskey says.
Though few question the goal of fair trade--lifting people out of poverty--the movement's long-term viability stands on wobbly legs even amidst year-over-year growth. As the fair trade movement seeks mainstream acceptance and broader social and economic justice, many wonder if it can become anything more than a niche market.
Economics with altruism
Thanks to fair trade, Fredis Paez, a worker on the El Antojo banana farm in Colombia, and his wife were able to open a local store. This once-unimaginable act for the laborer was made possible by an 80 percent rise in income along with a microloan. Paez's story is typical of fair trade programs, which traditionally have involved agricultural products.
Fair trade organizations approach development as a holistic process, not just a pricing mechanism. They cultivate direct relationships with workers in developing countries, shortening a product's journey from the producer's hands to the store shelf--or church sale--and eliminating the various "middlemen" found in conventional trading. More of a product's purchase price reaches front-line workers, allowing people like Paez to see their incomes rise.
Often, but not always, fair trade products carry an above-market price. Consumers are willing to pay more for the knowledge that proceeds are channeled back into the farmers' hands and communities, creating broader social change.
As core principles of fair trade, worker cooperatives receive a guaranteed floor price for their products, enjoy safe working conditions and living wages, and negotiate direct, long-term contracts with international buyers.
Cooperatives also democratically decide how to invest the trade premiums--a sum of money paid on top of the agreed-upon fair trade price to fund academic, social, or health development projects. At El Antojo banana farm, for instance, the premiums funded the microloan program that helped Paez start his own store. Increased income allows families to meet basic needs, keep children in school, and remain on their land, thereby improving quality of life and allowing them to take greater control of their futures.
The fair trade movement was largely driven by the Mennonite Central Committee in the United States after World War II, but 15 years ago Catholic Relief Services (CRS), noting fair trade's alignment with Catholic social teaching, created an office dedicated to the issue. "Fair trade [is] one avenue to help Catholics live their lives in solidarity and continue the drive for the common good and human dignity," says Jackie DeCarlo, CRS's senior program advisor for economic justice.
Not just church sales
Church folks aren't the only ones in the fair trade marketplace these days. In recent years, fair trade momentum has accelerated. Fair trade-certified coffee constituted little more than 2 million pounds of U.S. imports in 1999; a decade later the United States imported nearly 110 million pounds.
Fair trade has expanded from its coffee origins to include other goods as well: fruit, tea, cocoa, sugar, cotton, jewelry, sports balls, wine, and flowers. In late 2010, TransFair USA, the nation's leading independent, third-party certifier of fair trade products, welcomed fair trade apparel. The garments, made with Indian and Peruvian cotton, extend fair trade's agricultural objectives into the manufacturing world, a significant milestone for the movement.
Thanks to emerging relationships with leading retailers such as Whole Foods, Costco, Walmart, and a host of socially responsible small businesses, U.S. consumers today can choose from more than 6,000 products sourced from 58 nations. In 2009 alone, TransFair USA-certified goods generated $1.2 billion in U.S. sales, a 7 percent rise over 2008, distributing more than $14 million to 865 worker organizations to fund various community development projects, including schools and hospitals.
"When people know the back story, fair trade becomes far more intriguing," TransFair USA spokesperson Stacy Wagner says.
The movement's momentum shows no signs of slowing, particularly as socially conscious consumers surface as a growing and vocal contingent and businesses jump on board.
In 2009 Starbucks purchased 39 million pounds of fair trade coffee, doubled from 2008. Dunkin' Donuts, which had long been using fair trade espresso beans but not marketing its alliance, began sharing its fair trade story on cups, igniting consumer awareness. Ice cream giant Ben and Jerry's, an enthusiastic fair trade advocate, recently announced that 100 percent of its products, from its Cherry Garcia dark chocolate to its Chunky Monkey walnuts, would be certified fair trade by 2013, a decision that will drive conversions with its producers and suppliers.
Despite positive growth, fair trade products still only represent a fraction of available offerings to U.S. consumers. Experts say that fair trade must maintain its push into the mainstream market, collecting ethical consumers and working with brands to educate consumers. "But this all takes time, innovative brands, and retailers," Wagner says. The certification of fair trade coffee has only been aound for 11 years, tea for seven years. "The longer these categories are in existence, the better."
Small is beautiful
In south Florida Jorge Malo runs Fasanis, an upstart Internet business selling handmade soaps. In early 2009 Malo began seeking a way to further distinguish his products and landed upon a fair trade cooperative in Zimbabwe that created handmade paper. Their products, Malo thought, could serve as the packaging for Fasanis' soaps, sharing both the story of his company and fair trade, a movement in which Malo saw virtuous, worthy components.
"My wife and I went on our honeymoon to Zimbabwe, so we've seen the struggles of these people," Malo says. "We thought this partnership could be a win-win for everyone."
The entrepreneurial Malo quickly learned that fair trade had its limits. First, a lack of financing in fair trade communities limited their growth in an independent, sustainable manner. Second, the communities had little practical knowledge of the Western marketing and business process.
And finally, communities struggled to increase their productivity to a level at which greater volume could create a more competitive price.
"The community on one side and the buyers on the other don't necessarily work together," Malo says. "It's difficult for us to continue paying for this premium product and then expect the end consumers to absorb the costs as well. We'll keep trying, but I'm seeing some real limitations."
Furthermore, Malo and many others contend, a compelling story alone is not enough in the American "bang-for-the-buck" marketplace, which resists the higher cost for an unseen benefit half a world away.
Then, of course, there is the argument from free trade proponents that fair trade disrupts the very economies it vies to assist. Some critics forecast that fair trade's ignorance of market rates could ratchet up the price of the world's food supply, thereby demanding a larger portion of household income from the workers the movement aims to support. Detractors say free, open trade will better translate into increased national welfare, along with better prices for consumers.
"The fair trade movement has hung its marketing plan on the stories of the people that fair trade helps, but price and quality concerns generally win out in the end," says Christopher Kent, a futurist with Foresight Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm specializing in global consumer issues.
In the midst of a recession, economic pressures threaten to further thwart fair trade's growth, particularly among lower and middle-class consumers, who are unlikely to embrace fair trade's premium prices. TransFair USA acknowledges that ethical buying rises in proportion to discretionary income. As a result, fair trade's momentum relies on those with the means to be premium buyers, a minority of the American population.
"As a culture, we're very interested in getting the best deal, and that's a hurdle for fair trade to climb in any economic climate," DeCarlo says. Still, DeCarlo sees an opportunity with the recession for reflection to prompt solidarity, spurring individuals and families to assess their budgets. "Consumers can consider consumption and how they can be more conscious," she says. "How can we use our income well and form the right relationships so that our dollar has more impact?"
Brand confusion
Working with TransFair USA, San Francisco-based marketer Mortar Agency took a group of self-identified ethical consumers to Whole Foods and asked the shoppers to pull fair trade products. The result: confusion.
"There's been a lot of time devoted to talking about the farmers who are thousands of miles away, but there was really no push to connect directly with the consumer, and that's been a limiting factor," Mortar's Mark Williams says. If fair trade is to accomplish its ambitious objectives, Williams argues, the fair trade community at large needs to concentrate on the consumer experience.
"These are the people who will spread the word about fair trade, but even they were a bit in the dark. This has to change, allowing the consumer to discern what's real and what's marketing jargon," Williams says.
Recognition of the fair trade label in the United States hovers near 30 percent. Even fair trade ambassador Caskey, however, worries that fair trade might become more slogan than substance as it goes mainstream."The more I learn the more I want to question: Are the farmers getting the money? Are they being treated fairly?" Caskey says. "Hopefully we're helping farmers stay afloat and providing the dignity of work that is so central to the human existence. That's the root of fair trade and, hopefully where it will remain."
While aggressive efforts from TransFair USA and other credible organizations are being made to unify fair trade messaging, the term's adoption by corporate marketing mavens threatens to derail the progress. "In trying to enter the mainstream," DeCarlo contends, "companies that have embraced the certification might not always embrace fair trade standards, while consumers have likewise struggled to understand the standards reflected through the label."
With ethical consumerism on the rise, fair trade can be seen as a corporate ploy into one's wallet. In 2009 a study commissioned by TransFair USA found that 93 percent of so-called ethical consumers reported a positive perception of the host brand when the fair trade-certified label was present. Such a high number offers fuel to corporations seeking inroads to a growing demographic willing to pay above-market prices for the promises-albeit unseen, in the vast majority of cases-of fair trade.
As an example, Wagner of TransFair USA cites Starbucks, which only reluctantly entered the fair trade movement in 2000. Though the Seattle-based coffee giant now purchases more fair trade coffee than anyone, fair trade-certified blends represent a fraction of the company's total volume. Most of its coffee--81 percent in 2009--is certified by another process called C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices. Even so, Starbucks enjoys the benefit from aligning itself with the fair trade movement.
"In this way, perception becomes reality," DeCarlo says. She believes the large-scale corporate outlook runs counter to fair trade's small-scale production model.
Insincerity from retailers, if even in perception alone, could sidetrack the movement.
Fast forwarding fair trade
With room to grow in both market penetration and products, the fair trade system can benefit from consistent scrutiny and a holistic outlook.
"Catholic Relief Services is clear that fair trade is but one part of people leading more fair and full lives, but we shouldn't overstate it," DeCarlo says. "Sound governance and infrastructure are of central importance."
In a decade, fair trade skeptic Kent believes, fair trade will have increased its market share a few points but will flatline thereafter.
"In spite of the evangelicalism of the fair trade movement, there's nothing to indicate it will ever be more than a niche market," Kent says. "It's not for lack of effort, but simply that the entire Western mercantile system works against it."
Fair trade products, as Malo's story shows, are limited to a specific scale simply by the way cooperatives produce their goods. "There's only so much these workers can produce in a year," Kent says.
Ultimately, fair trade's mainstream success resides in a balance between capitalist business objectives and activist outreach tied to the ethical concerns that inspired its creation. Such is the only way, its loudest proponents argue, that fair trade can ensure a better, more ethical, and human future.
It's "Fair Trade Sunday" at St. Mary's, and Caskey is in overdrive.
There's a ripple effect to the day's purchases, Caskey explains. The coffee comes from farmer cooperatives in Africa and Latin America, while the chocolate comes from Ghana. The purchase of a fair trade product today, Caskey reminds her fellow parishioners, helps create life-changing opportunities for poor producers and their communities in these nations. Fair trade allows front-line workers to earn a "fair" wage by cutting out the usual mechanisms of trade that divert income from the producers.
"The Holy Spirit churned in me to get more connected," Caskey says of the fair trade sales she runs at St. Mary's at least six times each year. "You feel your work helps build better lives."
Caskey's journey into the fair trade world has been one of reflection and purpose.
In November 2008 she and her husband traveled to Costa Rica, one of Central America's purported "wealthier" nations. "But I only saw extreme poverty over and over," she says. "That trip opened my eyes and made me even more committed to fair trade."
Seeing poverty firsthand, she says, opened her eyes to ways in which she could be a more responsible consumer at home. She soon began evangelizing as a Catholic Relief Services fair trade ambassador for the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia as well.
"Catholic social teaching tells us the life and dignity of the human being is foremost. We are all called to serve and help, and fair trade is one way to make that happen," Caskey says.
Though few question the goal of fair trade--lifting people out of poverty--the movement's long-term viability stands on wobbly legs even amidst year-over-year growth. As the fair trade movement seeks mainstream acceptance and broader social and economic justice, many wonder if it can become anything more than a niche market.
Economics with altruism
Thanks to fair trade, Fredis Paez, a worker on the El Antojo banana farm in Colombia, and his wife were able to open a local store. This once-unimaginable act for the laborer was made possible by an 80 percent rise in income along with a microloan. Paez's story is typical of fair trade programs, which traditionally have involved agricultural products.
Fair trade organizations approach development as a holistic process, not just a pricing mechanism. They cultivate direct relationships with workers in developing countries, shortening a product's journey from the producer's hands to the store shelf--or church sale--and eliminating the various "middlemen" found in conventional trading. More of a product's purchase price reaches front-line workers, allowing people like Paez to see their incomes rise.
Often, but not always, fair trade products carry an above-market price. Consumers are willing to pay more for the knowledge that proceeds are channeled back into the farmers' hands and communities, creating broader social change.
As core principles of fair trade, worker cooperatives receive a guaranteed floor price for their products, enjoy safe working conditions and living wages, and negotiate direct, long-term contracts with international buyers.
Cooperatives also democratically decide how to invest the trade premiums--a sum of money paid on top of the agreed-upon fair trade price to fund academic, social, or health development projects. At El Antojo banana farm, for instance, the premiums funded the microloan program that helped Paez start his own store. Increased income allows families to meet basic needs, keep children in school, and remain on their land, thereby improving quality of life and allowing them to take greater control of their futures.
The fair trade movement was largely driven by the Mennonite Central Committee in the United States after World War II, but 15 years ago Catholic Relief Services (CRS), noting fair trade's alignment with Catholic social teaching, created an office dedicated to the issue. "Fair trade [is] one avenue to help Catholics live their lives in solidarity and continue the drive for the common good and human dignity," says Jackie DeCarlo, CRS's senior program advisor for economic justice.
Not just church sales
Church folks aren't the only ones in the fair trade marketplace these days. In recent years, fair trade momentum has accelerated. Fair trade-certified coffee constituted little more than 2 million pounds of U.S. imports in 1999; a decade later the United States imported nearly 110 million pounds.
Fair trade has expanded from its coffee origins to include other goods as well: fruit, tea, cocoa, sugar, cotton, jewelry, sports balls, wine, and flowers. In late 2010, TransFair USA, the nation's leading independent, third-party certifier of fair trade products, welcomed fair trade apparel. The garments, made with Indian and Peruvian cotton, extend fair trade's agricultural objectives into the manufacturing world, a significant milestone for the movement.
Thanks to emerging relationships with leading retailers such as Whole Foods, Costco, Walmart, and a host of socially responsible small businesses, U.S. consumers today can choose from more than 6,000 products sourced from 58 nations. In 2009 alone, TransFair USA-certified goods generated $1.2 billion in U.S. sales, a 7 percent rise over 2008, distributing more than $14 million to 865 worker organizations to fund various community development projects, including schools and hospitals.
"When people know the back story, fair trade becomes far more intriguing," TransFair USA spokesperson Stacy Wagner says.
The movement's momentum shows no signs of slowing, particularly as socially conscious consumers surface as a growing and vocal contingent and businesses jump on board.
In 2009 Starbucks purchased 39 million pounds of fair trade coffee, doubled from 2008. Dunkin' Donuts, which had long been using fair trade espresso beans but not marketing its alliance, began sharing its fair trade story on cups, igniting consumer awareness. Ice cream giant Ben and Jerry's, an enthusiastic fair trade advocate, recently announced that 100 percent of its products, from its Cherry Garcia dark chocolate to its Chunky Monkey walnuts, would be certified fair trade by 2013, a decision that will drive conversions with its producers and suppliers.
Despite positive growth, fair trade products still only represent a fraction of available offerings to U.S. consumers. Experts say that fair trade must maintain its push into the mainstream market, collecting ethical consumers and working with brands to educate consumers. "But this all takes time, innovative brands, and retailers," Wagner says. The certification of fair trade coffee has only been aound for 11 years, tea for seven years. "The longer these categories are in existence, the better."
Small is beautiful
In south Florida Jorge Malo runs Fasanis, an upstart Internet business selling handmade soaps. In early 2009 Malo began seeking a way to further distinguish his products and landed upon a fair trade cooperative in Zimbabwe that created handmade paper. Their products, Malo thought, could serve as the packaging for Fasanis' soaps, sharing both the story of his company and fair trade, a movement in which Malo saw virtuous, worthy components.
"My wife and I went on our honeymoon to Zimbabwe, so we've seen the struggles of these people," Malo says. "We thought this partnership could be a win-win for everyone."
The entrepreneurial Malo quickly learned that fair trade had its limits. First, a lack of financing in fair trade communities limited their growth in an independent, sustainable manner. Second, the communities had little practical knowledge of the Western marketing and business process.
And finally, communities struggled to increase their productivity to a level at which greater volume could create a more competitive price.
"The community on one side and the buyers on the other don't necessarily work together," Malo says. "It's difficult for us to continue paying for this premium product and then expect the end consumers to absorb the costs as well. We'll keep trying, but I'm seeing some real limitations."
Furthermore, Malo and many others contend, a compelling story alone is not enough in the American "bang-for-the-buck" marketplace, which resists the higher cost for an unseen benefit half a world away.
Then, of course, there is the argument from free trade proponents that fair trade disrupts the very economies it vies to assist. Some critics forecast that fair trade's ignorance of market rates could ratchet up the price of the world's food supply, thereby demanding a larger portion of household income from the workers the movement aims to support. Detractors say free, open trade will better translate into increased national welfare, along with better prices for consumers.
"The fair trade movement has hung its marketing plan on the stories of the people that fair trade helps, but price and quality concerns generally win out in the end," says Christopher Kent, a futurist with Foresight Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm specializing in global consumer issues.
In the midst of a recession, economic pressures threaten to further thwart fair trade's growth, particularly among lower and middle-class consumers, who are unlikely to embrace fair trade's premium prices. TransFair USA acknowledges that ethical buying rises in proportion to discretionary income. As a result, fair trade's momentum relies on those with the means to be premium buyers, a minority of the American population.
"As a culture, we're very interested in getting the best deal, and that's a hurdle for fair trade to climb in any economic climate," DeCarlo says. Still, DeCarlo sees an opportunity with the recession for reflection to prompt solidarity, spurring individuals and families to assess their budgets. "Consumers can consider consumption and how they can be more conscious," she says. "How can we use our income well and form the right relationships so that our dollar has more impact?"
Brand confusion
Working with TransFair USA, San Francisco-based marketer Mortar Agency took a group of self-identified ethical consumers to Whole Foods and asked the shoppers to pull fair trade products. The result: confusion.
"There's been a lot of time devoted to talking about the farmers who are thousands of miles away, but there was really no push to connect directly with the consumer, and that's been a limiting factor," Mortar's Mark Williams says. If fair trade is to accomplish its ambitious objectives, Williams argues, the fair trade community at large needs to concentrate on the consumer experience.
"These are the people who will spread the word about fair trade, but even they were a bit in the dark. This has to change, allowing the consumer to discern what's real and what's marketing jargon," Williams says.
Recognition of the fair trade label in the United States hovers near 30 percent. Even fair trade ambassador Caskey, however, worries that fair trade might become more slogan than substance as it goes mainstream."The more I learn the more I want to question: Are the farmers getting the money? Are they being treated fairly?" Caskey says. "Hopefully we're helping farmers stay afloat and providing the dignity of work that is so central to the human existence. That's the root of fair trade and, hopefully where it will remain."
While aggressive efforts from TransFair USA and other credible organizations are being made to unify fair trade messaging, the term's adoption by corporate marketing mavens threatens to derail the progress. "In trying to enter the mainstream," DeCarlo contends, "companies that have embraced the certification might not always embrace fair trade standards, while consumers have likewise struggled to understand the standards reflected through the label."
With ethical consumerism on the rise, fair trade can be seen as a corporate ploy into one's wallet. In 2009 a study commissioned by TransFair USA found that 93 percent of so-called ethical consumers reported a positive perception of the host brand when the fair trade-certified label was present. Such a high number offers fuel to corporations seeking inroads to a growing demographic willing to pay above-market prices for the promises-albeit unseen, in the vast majority of cases-of fair trade.
As an example, Wagner of TransFair USA cites Starbucks, which only reluctantly entered the fair trade movement in 2000. Though the Seattle-based coffee giant now purchases more fair trade coffee than anyone, fair trade-certified blends represent a fraction of the company's total volume. Most of its coffee--81 percent in 2009--is certified by another process called C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices. Even so, Starbucks enjoys the benefit from aligning itself with the fair trade movement.
"In this way, perception becomes reality," DeCarlo says. She believes the large-scale corporate outlook runs counter to fair trade's small-scale production model.
Insincerity from retailers, if even in perception alone, could sidetrack the movement.
Fast forwarding fair trade
With room to grow in both market penetration and products, the fair trade system can benefit from consistent scrutiny and a holistic outlook.
"Catholic Relief Services is clear that fair trade is but one part of people leading more fair and full lives, but we shouldn't overstate it," DeCarlo says. "Sound governance and infrastructure are of central importance."
In a decade, fair trade skeptic Kent believes, fair trade will have increased its market share a few points but will flatline thereafter.
"In spite of the evangelicalism of the fair trade movement, there's nothing to indicate it will ever be more than a niche market," Kent says. "It's not for lack of effort, but simply that the entire Western mercantile system works against it."
Fair trade products, as Malo's story shows, are limited to a specific scale simply by the way cooperatives produce their goods. "There's only so much these workers can produce in a year," Kent says.
Ultimately, fair trade's mainstream success resides in a balance between capitalist business objectives and activist outreach tied to the ethical concerns that inspired its creation. Such is the only way, its loudest proponents argue, that fair trade can ensure a better, more ethical, and human future.
Design for the Big Time: Latest Stadiums Mix History, Technology and Intimate Fan Experience (Recreation Management, July 2010)
Watching the game is no longer enough.
Today's homes for professional sports and big-time college teams have dropped cookie-cutter expectations and reached for sharp, innovative features that bring fans closer to the game, embrace history and tradition, and inject 21st-century marvels into the design. From field suites and interactive spaces to skyline views, party decks and team museums, recent stadiums increasingly have moved the needle from a place to merely watch a game to a cozy space delivering an experience.
These are not your grandfather's—or even your father's—stadiums. The latest sports and entertainment venues to grace the American landscape are packed with flair and punch, style and substance.
TCF Bank Stadium
Location: Minneapolis
Home Team: University of Minnesota football
Opened: August 2009
Seating: 50,000, including 36 suites, 55 to 60 loge boxes, 1,150 outdoor club seats and 300 indoor club seats
Football returned to the University of Minnesota campus after a nearly 30-year hiatus when TCF Bank Stadium debuted last season. Upon opening, the stadium was registered to become the nation's first LEED Certified collegiate football stadium.
TCF Bank Stadium's brick facade perimeter wall with arched portals reflects the team's former home—the on-campus Memorial Stadium. The horseshoe-shaped bowl is oriented to the west, allowing fans to enjoy scenic views of the campus and downtown Minneapolis, while information about both the university and the state is showcased throughout the facility.
Year-round functionality drove the design. The open end zone features the "Tribal Nations Plaza," a gathering place to celebrate the state of Minnesota and the Golden Gophers' program throughout the year. A 25,000-square-foot stadium club, meanwhile, also is available for year-round use as is the walkway created by a 360-degree colonnade.
"Collegiate football is game day; it's the traditions and the band, the cheerleaders and the school colors and the pride," said Scott Radecic, senior principal with Populous, a global design practice. "Our task was to collect all that emotion and design a building that could hold it all."
Target Field
Location: Minneapolis
Home Team: Minnesota Twins
Opened: April 2010
Seating: 40,000, including 60 suites
After 28 years in the sterile Metrodome, Target Field, spotted just north of downtown Minneapolis, represents the Twins first modern baseball home. Reflecting Minnesota's dynamic blend of urban sophistication and rugged outdoor vitality, the new $550 million ballpark's design uses materials drawn from the state's granite and limestone cliffs, incorporates Minnesota fir trees, and uses regional workers and resources.
Covering 1 million square feet, Target Field affords views of the Minneapolis skyline throughout the entire main grandstand. "Knotholes" along the side of the ballpark allow fans to peek in on the game's action from outside the park. A 101-foot-by-57-foot HD screen, among the largest in Major League Baseball, offers an undeniable 21st-century vibe.
While some have derided the decision to build an outdoor stadium in Minneapolis without a retractable roof to handle the area's volatile weather, many others have praised the stadium's embrace of baseball's natural setting. Though the city's northern cold will likely infiltrate some games, the design includes heated concessions, restrooms and lounge areas on each level, as well as an upper-deck canopy that provides added protection from the elements.
"Target Field is baseball's most urban ballpark, and we had to create the ballpark to make the city," said Earl Santee, senior principal and board member for Populous. "Target Field was the bridge builder—bridges that connect the ballpark to downtown and to the west side, and that's the only way we could make the site work…. It's that seamless connection between ballpark and city that made this project a success."
Yankee Stadium
Location: New York
Home Team: New York Yankees
Opened: April 2009
Seating: 52,325, including 56 luxury suites and 410 party suites
In replacing the original Yankee Stadium, a shrine to baseball lore, the pressure was on Kansas City-based Populous to create a facility that mixed the club's storied history with modern amenities.
To duplicate and even extend the charm of "The House That Ruth Built," the design of the new Yankee Stadium included trademark elements from the original 1923 ballpark, such as the limestone exterior, the manually operated auxiliary scoreboard, and the signature frieze that crowned the upper deck.
The stadium also integrates high-tech features, including: a distributed antenna system, which provides increased wireless reception; 1,400 video monitors placed throughout the stadium with the Yankees able to deliver exclusive content; a 59-foot-by-100-foot HD video board in center field; and luxury suites equipped with touch screens allowing fans to order anything from a hot dog to a Derek Jeter jersey.
After its opening in April 2009, the $1.5 billion stadium, which covers more than 1.4 million square feet, was commended for its spirited combination of old-world charm and modern-day flair.
"Yankee Stadium is a ballpark for the future with a soul of the past," Santee said. "Monument Park, the outfield bleachers, a new Great Hall—these are all special places where fans can gather and share the experience of what it means to be a Yankee fan."
Citi Field
Location: New York
Home Team: New York Mets
Opened: April 2009
Seating: 42,000, including 54 suites
With the opening of Citi Field for the 2009 baseball season, the Mets, long the second team in a two-team town, once again battled the Yankees for headlines. Citi Field, however, earned plenty of its own acclaim.
A blend of modern-day comforts and historic charm, including the Mets' legendary Home Run Apple, the Queens-based Citi Field mixes brick, limestone, granite and cast stone to create a dramatic design. The stadium's main entry is highlighted by the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, a space reminiscent of historic Ebbets Field, the beloved former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Most notably, the stadium brings new life to game day for fans and players alike. Contoured seating brings spectators closer to the action with nearly half of the stadium's 42,000 seats (15,000 less than the Mets' former Shea Stadium home) in the lower concourse. The Fan Fest family entertainment area, an outfield picnic area, multiple party decks and an interactive Mets museum all invite family-friendly entertainment. Citi Field also hosts five clubs and restaurants.
"Citi Field is a direct reflection of Mets fans," said Ben Barnert, senior principal with Populous. "It's a warm ballpark, an intimate ballpark full of references to what makes New York such a grand city that creates an energy that will draw Mets fans back time and again."
Cowboys Stadium
Location: Arlington, Texas
Home Team: Dallas Cowboys
Opened: June 2009
Seating: 80,000 for football with potential to hold more than 100,000; includes 300 suites, 48 at field level
For the design of the new Cowboys Stadium, arguably the most anticipated and hyped stadium in years, Dallas-based HKS Inc. combined modern, progressive architecture alongside elements of the old Texas Stadium's heritage, such as the shape of the roof's opening and the Ring of Honor.
The $1.1 billion Cowboys Stadium hosts a range of innovative design features, including: a 660,800-square-foot retractable roof supported by two monumental metallic arches; the world's largest retractable end zone doors; an 86-foot-high canted glass exterior wall; a pair of end zone plazas that serve as year-round gathering spaces; and sideline field suites. The highlight of Cowboys Stadium, however, is the much-discussed center-hung, four-sided HD video board, which covers 160 feet and extends between the two 20-yard lines.
Covering 73 acres and 3 million square feet, the expansiveness of the stadium is countered by a fan-friendly viewing environment. From the HD video board and open end zone viewing platforms to suites that are closer to the field than any other NFL venue, the new Cowboys Stadium was designed with the fan in mind.
"The Cowboys are one of the most recognized sports brands in the world, and the challenge was to replicate that popularity," said Mark Williams, principal with HKS. "We worked to understand the DNA of the Cowboys and to create a unique venue that replicated the Cowboys spirit, which has been an innovative team of firsts."
New Meadowlands Stadium
Location: East Rutherford, N.J.
Home Teams: New York Giants, New York Jets
Opening: April 2010
Seating: 82,500
When plans for a new football stadium in Manhattan for the Jets faltered, the franchise and its architect, Kansas City-based 360 Architecture, paired with its New York competitor, the Giants and Philadelphia's EwingCole, to build a modern stadium for the city's two NFL teams—a challenging venture in that the design had to appease two distinct ownership groups and fan bases.
The New Meadowlands Stadium claims a "neutral" design that can easily adapt to each team's needs and identity. The stadium pioneers the "cornerstone" concept, in which the four corners of the stadium have been sold to sponsors who have been given the leeway to create environments and experiences aligned with their own image and business objectives.
Above all, however, the design focused on creating a fan-centric facility, a reality accomplished with clear and direct sightlines, a tight seating bowl to foster an intense and intimate connection with the on-field action, and an array of premium seating options. The stadium also features state-of-the-art technology highlighted by four 128-foot-by-30-foot LED corner scoreboards.
"Above all, this stadium had to be about football—the Giants and the Jets and the creation of an intimidating venue," said George Heinlein, senior principal with 360 Architecture. "Hosting two NFL teams, the building had to have a neutral color scheme and exterior design so that the teams could customize the stadium on game days."
Louisville Arena
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Home Team: University of Louisville basketball
Opening: November 2010
Seating: 22,000 (basketball) and 16,000 (hockey), including 72 suites and four party suites
The Louisville Arena Authority sought a flexible, dynamic and contemporary facility to serve as the home court of the University of Louisville's basketball team as well as to preserve the ability to host to a plethora of other athletic and entertainment events. The development of the 7.5-acre downtown site characterizes Louisville's continued urban renaissance.
The Louisville Arena stands as an ode to sturdy design and contemporary flair. Limestone panels clad the lower portion of the exterior walls, a tactile connection to the carved bridge pylons flanking the entry to the Clark Memorial Bridge, while a more contemporary materiality of glass curtainwall and taut aluminum skin lightens the appearance. A dramatic wing-like roof caps the composition, contributing to Louisville's emerging skyline.
The waterfront project also features a number of sustainable elements, including: preservation of green space; use of existing infrastructure, utilities and roads; high-efficiency mechanical systems; and the use of low-emitting and renewable materials.
"Louisville Arena was designed as a centerpiece of downtown Louisville's renaissance," said Brad Clark, senior designer with Populous. "Its exterior represents movement and motion, much like a Cardinal in flight. The arena's roof is a sweeping form, and an expansive glass feature symbolizes the falls of Ohio. Inside, the building honors the Kentucky heritage of bluegrass, bourbon and basketball."
Consol Energy Center
Location: Pittsburgh
Home Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Opening: August 2010
Seating: 18,374 for hockey, including 65 suites, four party suites and 1,962 club seats
The new Pittsburgh Penguins arena uses exterior materials distinct to the Pennsylvania region yet consciously different from those of the adjacent Epiphany Church, an iconic piece of the Steel City's landscape.
Dramatic architecture is central to the design. A glazed circulation spine creates a striking architectural element that celebrates movement while simultaneously injecting a vivid marker into the night skyline. From inside, the spine affords guests dramatic views of the adjacent church and downtown skyline.
The Consol Energy Center, which will open as the first LEED-Certified NHL arena, claims a flexible seating bowl that will allow it to accommodate a wide range of sports and entertainment events. In addition, the arena will include two restaurants and a 3,400-square-foot team store.
Of additional note, plans remain in the works for the new arena's outdoor plaza to continue the team's tradition of showing playoff and other special games on a big screen outdoors, yet another opportunity for the stadium to boost the economic viability of the local area and respect the Penguins' history.
"Consol Energy Center is shaped by its site," said Rick Martin, managing senior principal for Populous. "We worked with the significant grade change of the site to create a remarkable glazed circulation spine that gives the building movement from the outside and offers spectacular views to downtown from within."
Amway Center
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Home Team: Orlando Magic
Opening: October 2010
Seating: 18,000, including 1,400 club seats, 58 suites, 60 loge boxes and four bunker suites
Looking to bring a counterpoint to the "Disney-fication" of Orlando, the Amway Center sits on an 8-acre site adjacent to the downtown Orlando Business District and looks to spark the city's revitalization.
A mix of metal and glass exterior materials will provide a distinctly modern look, while a 120-foot glass tower, which will host a Tower Club and observation deck, will welcome guests to Orlando's downtown with a wide range of colors. The Amway Center also will capitalize on Florida's moderate climate, boasting a variety of indoor-outdoor spaces. Upon entering the main lobby, for instance, guests will be able to venture outside and overlook the downtown area via a spacious balcony.
At 800,000 square feet, the multipurpose arena, which is also slated to host arena football, lacrosse, ice skating, hockey and concerts, features an array of premium and general seating options, a restaurant, a sports bar with outdoor terrace, a courtside club, a fan zone and an interactive kids area. The Amway Center seeks to be the first NBA arena to gain LEED certification.
"We took a hard and long look at the essence of Orlando before coming up with a design that we believe reflects the best and most distinctive aspects of this community," Clark said. "And just as importantly, the building will set a new standard in sustainable design as one of the greenest professional sports facilities in the country."
TD Ameritrade Park
Location: Omaha, Neb.
Home Team: NCAA Men's College World Series
Opening: April 2011
Seating: 24,000, including 26 luxury suites and 1,000 club seats
The new home of the College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park sits in the heart of downtown Omaha. The ballpark blends the traditions of college baseball and Omaha alongside more modern features.
Offering a more intimate fan experience, with fans sitting closer to the playing field than they did at the former Rosenblatt Stadium, TD Ameritrade Park will claim an open, 360-degree walkaround concourse, an expansive Fanfest area, and a retail area with views into the bullpen and onto the field.
The park, which also will play home to Creighton University's baseball team, is slated to host the NCAA Men's College World Series through 2035.
"Getting to Omaha is such a thrill for collegiate baseball players and fans, and that drove us to create an image of success," said designer Martin DiNitto. "The ballpark's modern expression, coupled with a ballpark experience bar none, will continue to make Omaha a memorable destination."
Today's homes for professional sports and big-time college teams have dropped cookie-cutter expectations and reached for sharp, innovative features that bring fans closer to the game, embrace history and tradition, and inject 21st-century marvels into the design. From field suites and interactive spaces to skyline views, party decks and team museums, recent stadiums increasingly have moved the needle from a place to merely watch a game to a cozy space delivering an experience.
These are not your grandfather's—or even your father's—stadiums. The latest sports and entertainment venues to grace the American landscape are packed with flair and punch, style and substance.
TCF Bank Stadium
Location: Minneapolis
Home Team: University of Minnesota football
Opened: August 2009
Seating: 50,000, including 36 suites, 55 to 60 loge boxes, 1,150 outdoor club seats and 300 indoor club seats
Football returned to the University of Minnesota campus after a nearly 30-year hiatus when TCF Bank Stadium debuted last season. Upon opening, the stadium was registered to become the nation's first LEED Certified collegiate football stadium.
TCF Bank Stadium's brick facade perimeter wall with arched portals reflects the team's former home—the on-campus Memorial Stadium. The horseshoe-shaped bowl is oriented to the west, allowing fans to enjoy scenic views of the campus and downtown Minneapolis, while information about both the university and the state is showcased throughout the facility.
Year-round functionality drove the design. The open end zone features the "Tribal Nations Plaza," a gathering place to celebrate the state of Minnesota and the Golden Gophers' program throughout the year. A 25,000-square-foot stadium club, meanwhile, also is available for year-round use as is the walkway created by a 360-degree colonnade.
"Collegiate football is game day; it's the traditions and the band, the cheerleaders and the school colors and the pride," said Scott Radecic, senior principal with Populous, a global design practice. "Our task was to collect all that emotion and design a building that could hold it all."
Target Field
Location: Minneapolis
Home Team: Minnesota Twins
Opened: April 2010
Seating: 40,000, including 60 suites
After 28 years in the sterile Metrodome, Target Field, spotted just north of downtown Minneapolis, represents the Twins first modern baseball home. Reflecting Minnesota's dynamic blend of urban sophistication and rugged outdoor vitality, the new $550 million ballpark's design uses materials drawn from the state's granite and limestone cliffs, incorporates Minnesota fir trees, and uses regional workers and resources.
Covering 1 million square feet, Target Field affords views of the Minneapolis skyline throughout the entire main grandstand. "Knotholes" along the side of the ballpark allow fans to peek in on the game's action from outside the park. A 101-foot-by-57-foot HD screen, among the largest in Major League Baseball, offers an undeniable 21st-century vibe.
While some have derided the decision to build an outdoor stadium in Minneapolis without a retractable roof to handle the area's volatile weather, many others have praised the stadium's embrace of baseball's natural setting. Though the city's northern cold will likely infiltrate some games, the design includes heated concessions, restrooms and lounge areas on each level, as well as an upper-deck canopy that provides added protection from the elements.
"Target Field is baseball's most urban ballpark, and we had to create the ballpark to make the city," said Earl Santee, senior principal and board member for Populous. "Target Field was the bridge builder—bridges that connect the ballpark to downtown and to the west side, and that's the only way we could make the site work…. It's that seamless connection between ballpark and city that made this project a success."
Yankee Stadium
Location: New York
Home Team: New York Yankees
Opened: April 2009
Seating: 52,325, including 56 luxury suites and 410 party suites
In replacing the original Yankee Stadium, a shrine to baseball lore, the pressure was on Kansas City-based Populous to create a facility that mixed the club's storied history with modern amenities.
To duplicate and even extend the charm of "The House That Ruth Built," the design of the new Yankee Stadium included trademark elements from the original 1923 ballpark, such as the limestone exterior, the manually operated auxiliary scoreboard, and the signature frieze that crowned the upper deck.
The stadium also integrates high-tech features, including: a distributed antenna system, which provides increased wireless reception; 1,400 video monitors placed throughout the stadium with the Yankees able to deliver exclusive content; a 59-foot-by-100-foot HD video board in center field; and luxury suites equipped with touch screens allowing fans to order anything from a hot dog to a Derek Jeter jersey.
After its opening in April 2009, the $1.5 billion stadium, which covers more than 1.4 million square feet, was commended for its spirited combination of old-world charm and modern-day flair.
"Yankee Stadium is a ballpark for the future with a soul of the past," Santee said. "Monument Park, the outfield bleachers, a new Great Hall—these are all special places where fans can gather and share the experience of what it means to be a Yankee fan."
Citi Field
Location: New York
Home Team: New York Mets
Opened: April 2009
Seating: 42,000, including 54 suites
With the opening of Citi Field for the 2009 baseball season, the Mets, long the second team in a two-team town, once again battled the Yankees for headlines. Citi Field, however, earned plenty of its own acclaim.
A blend of modern-day comforts and historic charm, including the Mets' legendary Home Run Apple, the Queens-based Citi Field mixes brick, limestone, granite and cast stone to create a dramatic design. The stadium's main entry is highlighted by the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, a space reminiscent of historic Ebbets Field, the beloved former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Most notably, the stadium brings new life to game day for fans and players alike. Contoured seating brings spectators closer to the action with nearly half of the stadium's 42,000 seats (15,000 less than the Mets' former Shea Stadium home) in the lower concourse. The Fan Fest family entertainment area, an outfield picnic area, multiple party decks and an interactive Mets museum all invite family-friendly entertainment. Citi Field also hosts five clubs and restaurants.
"Citi Field is a direct reflection of Mets fans," said Ben Barnert, senior principal with Populous. "It's a warm ballpark, an intimate ballpark full of references to what makes New York such a grand city that creates an energy that will draw Mets fans back time and again."
Cowboys Stadium
Location: Arlington, Texas
Home Team: Dallas Cowboys
Opened: June 2009
Seating: 80,000 for football with potential to hold more than 100,000; includes 300 suites, 48 at field level
For the design of the new Cowboys Stadium, arguably the most anticipated and hyped stadium in years, Dallas-based HKS Inc. combined modern, progressive architecture alongside elements of the old Texas Stadium's heritage, such as the shape of the roof's opening and the Ring of Honor.
The $1.1 billion Cowboys Stadium hosts a range of innovative design features, including: a 660,800-square-foot retractable roof supported by two monumental metallic arches; the world's largest retractable end zone doors; an 86-foot-high canted glass exterior wall; a pair of end zone plazas that serve as year-round gathering spaces; and sideline field suites. The highlight of Cowboys Stadium, however, is the much-discussed center-hung, four-sided HD video board, which covers 160 feet and extends between the two 20-yard lines.
Covering 73 acres and 3 million square feet, the expansiveness of the stadium is countered by a fan-friendly viewing environment. From the HD video board and open end zone viewing platforms to suites that are closer to the field than any other NFL venue, the new Cowboys Stadium was designed with the fan in mind.
"The Cowboys are one of the most recognized sports brands in the world, and the challenge was to replicate that popularity," said Mark Williams, principal with HKS. "We worked to understand the DNA of the Cowboys and to create a unique venue that replicated the Cowboys spirit, which has been an innovative team of firsts."
New Meadowlands Stadium
Location: East Rutherford, N.J.
Home Teams: New York Giants, New York Jets
Opening: April 2010
Seating: 82,500
When plans for a new football stadium in Manhattan for the Jets faltered, the franchise and its architect, Kansas City-based 360 Architecture, paired with its New York competitor, the Giants and Philadelphia's EwingCole, to build a modern stadium for the city's two NFL teams—a challenging venture in that the design had to appease two distinct ownership groups and fan bases.
The New Meadowlands Stadium claims a "neutral" design that can easily adapt to each team's needs and identity. The stadium pioneers the "cornerstone" concept, in which the four corners of the stadium have been sold to sponsors who have been given the leeway to create environments and experiences aligned with their own image and business objectives.
Above all, however, the design focused on creating a fan-centric facility, a reality accomplished with clear and direct sightlines, a tight seating bowl to foster an intense and intimate connection with the on-field action, and an array of premium seating options. The stadium also features state-of-the-art technology highlighted by four 128-foot-by-30-foot LED corner scoreboards.
"Above all, this stadium had to be about football—the Giants and the Jets and the creation of an intimidating venue," said George Heinlein, senior principal with 360 Architecture. "Hosting two NFL teams, the building had to have a neutral color scheme and exterior design so that the teams could customize the stadium on game days."
Louisville Arena
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Home Team: University of Louisville basketball
Opening: November 2010
Seating: 22,000 (basketball) and 16,000 (hockey), including 72 suites and four party suites
The Louisville Arena Authority sought a flexible, dynamic and contemporary facility to serve as the home court of the University of Louisville's basketball team as well as to preserve the ability to host to a plethora of other athletic and entertainment events. The development of the 7.5-acre downtown site characterizes Louisville's continued urban renaissance.
The Louisville Arena stands as an ode to sturdy design and contemporary flair. Limestone panels clad the lower portion of the exterior walls, a tactile connection to the carved bridge pylons flanking the entry to the Clark Memorial Bridge, while a more contemporary materiality of glass curtainwall and taut aluminum skin lightens the appearance. A dramatic wing-like roof caps the composition, contributing to Louisville's emerging skyline.
The waterfront project also features a number of sustainable elements, including: preservation of green space; use of existing infrastructure, utilities and roads; high-efficiency mechanical systems; and the use of low-emitting and renewable materials.
"Louisville Arena was designed as a centerpiece of downtown Louisville's renaissance," said Brad Clark, senior designer with Populous. "Its exterior represents movement and motion, much like a Cardinal in flight. The arena's roof is a sweeping form, and an expansive glass feature symbolizes the falls of Ohio. Inside, the building honors the Kentucky heritage of bluegrass, bourbon and basketball."
Consol Energy Center
Location: Pittsburgh
Home Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Opening: August 2010
Seating: 18,374 for hockey, including 65 suites, four party suites and 1,962 club seats
The new Pittsburgh Penguins arena uses exterior materials distinct to the Pennsylvania region yet consciously different from those of the adjacent Epiphany Church, an iconic piece of the Steel City's landscape.
Dramatic architecture is central to the design. A glazed circulation spine creates a striking architectural element that celebrates movement while simultaneously injecting a vivid marker into the night skyline. From inside, the spine affords guests dramatic views of the adjacent church and downtown skyline.
The Consol Energy Center, which will open as the first LEED-Certified NHL arena, claims a flexible seating bowl that will allow it to accommodate a wide range of sports and entertainment events. In addition, the arena will include two restaurants and a 3,400-square-foot team store.
Of additional note, plans remain in the works for the new arena's outdoor plaza to continue the team's tradition of showing playoff and other special games on a big screen outdoors, yet another opportunity for the stadium to boost the economic viability of the local area and respect the Penguins' history.
"Consol Energy Center is shaped by its site," said Rick Martin, managing senior principal for Populous. "We worked with the significant grade change of the site to create a remarkable glazed circulation spine that gives the building movement from the outside and offers spectacular views to downtown from within."
Amway Center
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Home Team: Orlando Magic
Opening: October 2010
Seating: 18,000, including 1,400 club seats, 58 suites, 60 loge boxes and four bunker suites
Looking to bring a counterpoint to the "Disney-fication" of Orlando, the Amway Center sits on an 8-acre site adjacent to the downtown Orlando Business District and looks to spark the city's revitalization.
A mix of metal and glass exterior materials will provide a distinctly modern look, while a 120-foot glass tower, which will host a Tower Club and observation deck, will welcome guests to Orlando's downtown with a wide range of colors. The Amway Center also will capitalize on Florida's moderate climate, boasting a variety of indoor-outdoor spaces. Upon entering the main lobby, for instance, guests will be able to venture outside and overlook the downtown area via a spacious balcony.
At 800,000 square feet, the multipurpose arena, which is also slated to host arena football, lacrosse, ice skating, hockey and concerts, features an array of premium and general seating options, a restaurant, a sports bar with outdoor terrace, a courtside club, a fan zone and an interactive kids area. The Amway Center seeks to be the first NBA arena to gain LEED certification.
"We took a hard and long look at the essence of Orlando before coming up with a design that we believe reflects the best and most distinctive aspects of this community," Clark said. "And just as importantly, the building will set a new standard in sustainable design as one of the greenest professional sports facilities in the country."
TD Ameritrade Park
Location: Omaha, Neb.
Home Team: NCAA Men's College World Series
Opening: April 2011
Seating: 24,000, including 26 luxury suites and 1,000 club seats
The new home of the College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park sits in the heart of downtown Omaha. The ballpark blends the traditions of college baseball and Omaha alongside more modern features.
Offering a more intimate fan experience, with fans sitting closer to the playing field than they did at the former Rosenblatt Stadium, TD Ameritrade Park will claim an open, 360-degree walkaround concourse, an expansive Fanfest area, and a retail area with views into the bullpen and onto the field.
The park, which also will play home to Creighton University's baseball team, is slated to host the NCAA Men's College World Series through 2035.
"Getting to Omaha is such a thrill for collegiate baseball players and fans, and that drove us to create an image of success," said designer Martin DiNitto. "The ballpark's modern expression, coupled with a ballpark experience bar none, will continue to make Omaha a memorable destination."
All About the iPad (QSR, August 2010)
When the iPad was introduced in late January, the tech world buzzed about the gadget’s possibilities and visionary applications. Two of Apple’s other signature products, the iPod and iPhone, sparked such revolutionary momentum that creative minds swirled with ideas on how the iPad, a larger, more comprehensive touch-screen device, might function in a world increasingly clamoring for portable and wireless.
Restaurant-industry types are beginning to let their imaginations wander as well. Many are eager to investigate how the iPad, one of the most anticipated devices in years and leader of the impending tablet rush, could improve restaurant systems, operations, margins, or efficiencies in the back or front of the house.
“The iPad is incredibly new, but there’s no question it’s going to help,” says Patrick Eldon, CEO of orderTalk Inc., a Texas-based provider of online ordering for quick-service chains like Jason’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s. “The technology is present and consumers are increasingly expecting these types of opportunities.”
Certainly, the iPad possesses some restaurant-friendly features. The touch-screen device runs more than 140,000 apps and has a washable screen, stand-up dock, and built-in WiFi connection. In addition, the iPad’s $499 starting price is competitive with many handheld POS units, and it boasts strong ease of use; a 9.7-inch, LED-backlit display; up to 10 hours of battery life; and the immeasurable yet unquestionable “It” factor. Launched in the U.S. on April 3, the iPad sold 300,000 units on its first day and more than 2 million in its first 60 days.
Cupertino, California–based Apple leans heavily on app developers across the country to enhance its device with an inventive energy that thrusts the product down new paths and into a vast array of industries, including the restaurant sector. In only a matter of years, the iPhone integrated a host of ordering and marketing capabilities and credit card payment apps. Many hold out similar—if not even more ambitious—hope for the iPad.
Most see the iPad’s greatest potential as a portable POS device. One national quick-service chain is testing the iPad as an order-taking device, thereby offering the possibility of tableside ordering and payment service to the quick-serve arena, a rare but customer-friendly feature. A smaller concept, 4food, included iPads as an order-taking device when it opened its first of 11 locations in New York in August.
“Customers and even staff are no longer limited to having to walk to a mounted system to get things done,” says Steven Wei of ChompStack, a Los Angeles company that builds software for restaurants. “Having the freedom to move around opens up a range of opportunities.”
Servers can walk around the dining room, input orders, and collect payment from individual customers. The food can be delivered directly to the table much as it is in many fast-casual establishments already.
“If you want to take this mobile solution and maximize its effectiveness, then you may need to change the way you do business,” says Sly Glass, director of sales for POS provider Hospitality Solutions International, which showcased its iPad POS system at May’s National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago.
“But at the minimum,” Glass says, “restaurants can easily use the iPad as a line-busting tool to create efficiencies between ordering and payment during high traffic.”
Others see promise in the iPad as an interactive, paperless menu. Though the up-front menuboard style of quick service makes many question the industry’s ability to integrate the iPad as a menu, fine-dining establishments are already beginning to incorporate it.
Mundo Global Tapas, a posh eatery in Sydney, Australia, introduced its iPad menu to customers in June. A custom-made app allows diners to browse the virtual pages of the restaurant’s menu, peruse dish images, read tasting notes, and then send their order into the kitchen. The iPad menu also suggests wine pairings for dishes and maintains stock levels, eliminating sold-out items from the on-screen menu.
“It is unlikely the iPad will gain traction as a menu ordering system in [quick service],” says restaurant consultant Aaron Allen, who says the concept of iPad kiosks for quick serves is more reasonable. “Kiosks are great tools for providing menu information, such as nutrition, serving as a portal for submitting applications electronically at the unit level, and also a wide range of other creative in-store marketing uses.”
Indeed, many tout the iPad’s potential as a marketing tool, specifically in tandem with mobile ordering. Customers placing an order become registered users, giving operators a valuable data-mining tool. By gathering personal info on customers, restaurants can produce more targeted marketing messages. The same device can then offer guest surveys as well.
“At the moment, restaurants largely operate in the dark,” orderTalk’s Eldon says. “As you get to know customers, you’ll not only understand your own business better, but be able to better produce products to their liking.”
Others see promise for the iPad as a portable inventory device. Instead of restaurant staffers having to manually record product levels or scan bar codes, the iPad’s portability allows team members to directly record inventory data into a restaurant’s tracking system.
One South Carolina–based company is even testing an iPad hiring system for employees. The new PeopleMatter technology allows potential crew members to input their employment history, available work schedule, and even past military experience so chains can take advantage of the Worker’s Opportunity Tax Credit. All the information is securely stored, saving companies the headache of keeping track of archived I-9 forms.
But the question remains whether or not the iPad is realistic for the quick-service industry.
Unlike many retail-hardened POS terminals, an over-the-counter consumer device such as the iPad has not been tested to withstand a restaurant’s frenzied atmosphere, which will most certainly include drops and spills.
Furthermore, the iPad’s wireless signal can easily get tossed off track given the range of frequency waves that can infiltrate an establishment. Dropped connectivity can delay order taking and credit-card processing, two issues that tend to irk customers.
“I don’t know if the iPad specifically is the solution, but I do think the device opens the door for all different types of tablets that might better integrate into the restaurant setting,” ChompStack’s Wei says. “Even if the iPad won’t be used, others will.”
Restaurant-industry types are beginning to let their imaginations wander as well. Many are eager to investigate how the iPad, one of the most anticipated devices in years and leader of the impending tablet rush, could improve restaurant systems, operations, margins, or efficiencies in the back or front of the house.
“The iPad is incredibly new, but there’s no question it’s going to help,” says Patrick Eldon, CEO of orderTalk Inc., a Texas-based provider of online ordering for quick-service chains like Jason’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s. “The technology is present and consumers are increasingly expecting these types of opportunities.”
Certainly, the iPad possesses some restaurant-friendly features. The touch-screen device runs more than 140,000 apps and has a washable screen, stand-up dock, and built-in WiFi connection. In addition, the iPad’s $499 starting price is competitive with many handheld POS units, and it boasts strong ease of use; a 9.7-inch, LED-backlit display; up to 10 hours of battery life; and the immeasurable yet unquestionable “It” factor. Launched in the U.S. on April 3, the iPad sold 300,000 units on its first day and more than 2 million in its first 60 days.
Cupertino, California–based Apple leans heavily on app developers across the country to enhance its device with an inventive energy that thrusts the product down new paths and into a vast array of industries, including the restaurant sector. In only a matter of years, the iPhone integrated a host of ordering and marketing capabilities and credit card payment apps. Many hold out similar—if not even more ambitious—hope for the iPad.
Most see the iPad’s greatest potential as a portable POS device. One national quick-service chain is testing the iPad as an order-taking device, thereby offering the possibility of tableside ordering and payment service to the quick-serve arena, a rare but customer-friendly feature. A smaller concept, 4food, included iPads as an order-taking device when it opened its first of 11 locations in New York in August.
“Customers and even staff are no longer limited to having to walk to a mounted system to get things done,” says Steven Wei of ChompStack, a Los Angeles company that builds software for restaurants. “Having the freedom to move around opens up a range of opportunities.”
Servers can walk around the dining room, input orders, and collect payment from individual customers. The food can be delivered directly to the table much as it is in many fast-casual establishments already.
“If you want to take this mobile solution and maximize its effectiveness, then you may need to change the way you do business,” says Sly Glass, director of sales for POS provider Hospitality Solutions International, which showcased its iPad POS system at May’s National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago.
“But at the minimum,” Glass says, “restaurants can easily use the iPad as a line-busting tool to create efficiencies between ordering and payment during high traffic.”
Others see promise in the iPad as an interactive, paperless menu. Though the up-front menuboard style of quick service makes many question the industry’s ability to integrate the iPad as a menu, fine-dining establishments are already beginning to incorporate it.
Mundo Global Tapas, a posh eatery in Sydney, Australia, introduced its iPad menu to customers in June. A custom-made app allows diners to browse the virtual pages of the restaurant’s menu, peruse dish images, read tasting notes, and then send their order into the kitchen. The iPad menu also suggests wine pairings for dishes and maintains stock levels, eliminating sold-out items from the on-screen menu.
“It is unlikely the iPad will gain traction as a menu ordering system in [quick service],” says restaurant consultant Aaron Allen, who says the concept of iPad kiosks for quick serves is more reasonable. “Kiosks are great tools for providing menu information, such as nutrition, serving as a portal for submitting applications electronically at the unit level, and also a wide range of other creative in-store marketing uses.”
Indeed, many tout the iPad’s potential as a marketing tool, specifically in tandem with mobile ordering. Customers placing an order become registered users, giving operators a valuable data-mining tool. By gathering personal info on customers, restaurants can produce more targeted marketing messages. The same device can then offer guest surveys as well.
“At the moment, restaurants largely operate in the dark,” orderTalk’s Eldon says. “As you get to know customers, you’ll not only understand your own business better, but be able to better produce products to their liking.”
Others see promise for the iPad as a portable inventory device. Instead of restaurant staffers having to manually record product levels or scan bar codes, the iPad’s portability allows team members to directly record inventory data into a restaurant’s tracking system.
One South Carolina–based company is even testing an iPad hiring system for employees. The new PeopleMatter technology allows potential crew members to input their employment history, available work schedule, and even past military experience so chains can take advantage of the Worker’s Opportunity Tax Credit. All the information is securely stored, saving companies the headache of keeping track of archived I-9 forms.
But the question remains whether or not the iPad is realistic for the quick-service industry.
Unlike many retail-hardened POS terminals, an over-the-counter consumer device such as the iPad has not been tested to withstand a restaurant’s frenzied atmosphere, which will most certainly include drops and spills.
Furthermore, the iPad’s wireless signal can easily get tossed off track given the range of frequency waves that can infiltrate an establishment. Dropped connectivity can delay order taking and credit-card processing, two issues that tend to irk customers.
“I don’t know if the iPad specifically is the solution, but I do think the device opens the door for all different types of tablets that might better integrate into the restaurant setting,” ChompStack’s Wei says. “Even if the iPad won’t be used, others will.”
Friday, September 11, 2009
Couple turned disaster into distinctive rebuild (Chicago Sun-Times, August 16, 2009)
Chicago homeowners Andy and Tammy Sullivan sat amid the rubble of their 90-year-old Ravenswood Manor bungalow and were forced to reconsider their present as much as their future.
The couple had begun an extensive renovation, and by a mix of Mother Nature and human folly the house tumbled to the ground two months into the project. They could have seen defeat as much as the opportunity to build something more grand and distinctive.
Instead, they looked back, and decided to recreate their Chicago bungalow from the ground up, a rare turn in an evolving city where gentrification and progress too often means wrecking balls and a break from the past.
A purchase and plans
The historic Chicago bungalow remains the city's most iconic residential home style. Both sturdy with its brick construction and elaborate with its cathedral-style elements, the bungalow is a splendid mix of history and character, simplicity and stability.
Andy Sullivan, born and bred in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood, understood the bungalow's revered place in Chicago architecture, its reputation as a muscular, middle-class home. His wife, Tammy, a native Texan, wasn't sold.
"The whole idea of having a home just like thousands of others in Chicago didn't really appeal to me," Tammy said. "But once I got inside and saw how much room they had and the sense of history, I was hooked."
After six months of searching, the couple spotted a 2-bedroom, red-brick bungalow in Ravenswood Manor. The 1919 home held much charm typical of most bungalows, including stained glass windows and intricate woodwork. Care and updates were needed, but the home held promise.
The sale completed in February 2007, and the Sullivans turned their attention to an expansive remodeling project to put a fresh spin on their early 20th century structure. Plans included modernizing and expanding the living space, including a second-story addition, while restoring the bungalow's intricate detail and warm feel from years of inattention.
In March 2008, work began on gutting the home to its brick walls. On target for an October completion, the Sullivans -- their weariness high, their hopes even higher -- treasured the project and its potential.
Demolition day
On May 2, 2008, nearly two inches of rain and hail hammered the city in one hour. Wind gusts approached 60 mph and Mother Nature turned a subcontractor mistake into disaster. The construction team, directed to do the basement underpinning in four-foot sections, elected to do 10-foot sections. Unable to endure the vicious storm, the home toppled to the ground.
The foundation compromised, the Sullivans would have to tear the home down, thereby stifling any plans the couple had for an October move-in date.
"Here was this home we thought was being built and now it's done," Andy said of the wreckage. "Truthfully, I don't think we knew what we were going to do."
Recover and rebuild
Chicagoans have a long history of rebuilding, a track record of endurance and perseverance. The Sullivans summoned every bit of that spirit to battle the months ahead.
After consulting with attorneys, contractors and other trusted advisers, they elected to move forward with new construction -- and to recreate, as best they could, the same historic Chicago bungalow they had purchased just months prior.
The truth: the Sullivans could have built any home -- a modern Georgian, a contemporary Cape Cod, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired three-story monstrosity. They could have scoured the streets of Chicago's gentrifying neighborhoods to find a home that caught their eye, something fashionable, innovative and distinct. They had the blank canvas to make such a choice, the freedom to build any home they desired.
And yet, they choose the bungalow, the historic Chicago variety, something that would both blend into the neighborhood as well as honor the city's spirit.
"Chicago's a unique city for its architecture and the bungalow is a significant part of that style, class and character," Andy said. "We deeply wanted to be a part of that nostalgia, even as we had the opportunity to build anything else.
"I understand others who take a different route, who build a home that fits whatever vision they have, and they have that right. But for us, that wasn't what we wanted. We wanted a bungalow and something that blended into the neighborhood."
Though brick bungalows consume the Chicago area landscape -- estimates say the city hosts as many as 80,000 bungalows in areas north, south, and west -- it is a home design that has largely disappeared from modern residential construction. Expensive to build with brick and rarely maximizing a home's available land space, bungalows do not mesh with today's new home trends.
The Sullivans' project would be a new venture for many involved, calling for fresh designs on a century-old home style.
"We are always cognizant of wanting to fit in with the surroundings, and stress that with our clients, but we had never attempted to recreate a turn-of-the-century bungalow before," said Chad Halverson of Vertex Properties, the Sullivans' general contractor.
Reinvented and resurrected
Along with Halvorson, Ron Meadows, the head of Vertex, and architect Mark Michonski of Chicago-based Jonathan Splitt Architects, the Sullivans reviewed their initial plans for the once-standing bungalow and elected to stay consistent with those elements -- expanding the living space and modernizing the floor plan.
"We treated this like rebuilding the home that was there before and then adding a second story," Michonski said.
Obeying the footprint of the original home, the Sullivans relocated key functions, creating a more usable kitchen and family room while working to retain the bungalow's long-admired characteristics, such as a formal living room and dining room. The couple even included some of the bungalow's most intricate details, including the red-brick exterior patterns, stained-glass windows and stone planters.
Creating a historic Chicago bungalow in the 21st century, the Sullivans also added a number of eco-friendly features as a member of Chicago's Green Home program, including a geothermal heating system, expanding foam insulation made from soybean oil, and a tankless water heater.
This past June, the Sullivans moved into their completed bungalow. Boxes filled rooms and work remained, but the finish line emerged within view. As the Fourth of July approached, the couple embarked upon one of their final tasks: adding grass to their city lot, one that had been littered with dirt and debris for over a year.
"It was all such an emotional roller coaster, so it was a huge relief to know that we were nearing the end and had accomplished our goal," Tammy said.
Today, the couple's home blends into a block filled with historic Chicago bungalows, looking as much the 90-year old home as their neighbors'. Yes, it looks fresh and new, but also in place, a replica of Chicago's past in a hard-charging present.
"People ask me, 'Where does the addition start?' and that's a compliment to the work done here," Andy said.
From disaster, the Sullivans found comfort in the past and a plan for the future. In the historic brick bungalow, as much a piece of the Chicago scene as hot dog stands and church steeples, they found home.
"We never plan on moving," Andy said. "For us, this is it."
The couple had begun an extensive renovation, and by a mix of Mother Nature and human folly the house tumbled to the ground two months into the project. They could have seen defeat as much as the opportunity to build something more grand and distinctive.
Instead, they looked back, and decided to recreate their Chicago bungalow from the ground up, a rare turn in an evolving city where gentrification and progress too often means wrecking balls and a break from the past.
A purchase and plans
The historic Chicago bungalow remains the city's most iconic residential home style. Both sturdy with its brick construction and elaborate with its cathedral-style elements, the bungalow is a splendid mix of history and character, simplicity and stability.
Andy Sullivan, born and bred in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood, understood the bungalow's revered place in Chicago architecture, its reputation as a muscular, middle-class home. His wife, Tammy, a native Texan, wasn't sold.
"The whole idea of having a home just like thousands of others in Chicago didn't really appeal to me," Tammy said. "But once I got inside and saw how much room they had and the sense of history, I was hooked."
After six months of searching, the couple spotted a 2-bedroom, red-brick bungalow in Ravenswood Manor. The 1919 home held much charm typical of most bungalows, including stained glass windows and intricate woodwork. Care and updates were needed, but the home held promise.
The sale completed in February 2007, and the Sullivans turned their attention to an expansive remodeling project to put a fresh spin on their early 20th century structure. Plans included modernizing and expanding the living space, including a second-story addition, while restoring the bungalow's intricate detail and warm feel from years of inattention.
In March 2008, work began on gutting the home to its brick walls. On target for an October completion, the Sullivans -- their weariness high, their hopes even higher -- treasured the project and its potential.
Demolition day
On May 2, 2008, nearly two inches of rain and hail hammered the city in one hour. Wind gusts approached 60 mph and Mother Nature turned a subcontractor mistake into disaster. The construction team, directed to do the basement underpinning in four-foot sections, elected to do 10-foot sections. Unable to endure the vicious storm, the home toppled to the ground.
The foundation compromised, the Sullivans would have to tear the home down, thereby stifling any plans the couple had for an October move-in date.
"Here was this home we thought was being built and now it's done," Andy said of the wreckage. "Truthfully, I don't think we knew what we were going to do."
Recover and rebuild
Chicagoans have a long history of rebuilding, a track record of endurance and perseverance. The Sullivans summoned every bit of that spirit to battle the months ahead.
After consulting with attorneys, contractors and other trusted advisers, they elected to move forward with new construction -- and to recreate, as best they could, the same historic Chicago bungalow they had purchased just months prior.
The truth: the Sullivans could have built any home -- a modern Georgian, a contemporary Cape Cod, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired three-story monstrosity. They could have scoured the streets of Chicago's gentrifying neighborhoods to find a home that caught their eye, something fashionable, innovative and distinct. They had the blank canvas to make such a choice, the freedom to build any home they desired.
And yet, they choose the bungalow, the historic Chicago variety, something that would both blend into the neighborhood as well as honor the city's spirit.
"Chicago's a unique city for its architecture and the bungalow is a significant part of that style, class and character," Andy said. "We deeply wanted to be a part of that nostalgia, even as we had the opportunity to build anything else.
"I understand others who take a different route, who build a home that fits whatever vision they have, and they have that right. But for us, that wasn't what we wanted. We wanted a bungalow and something that blended into the neighborhood."
Though brick bungalows consume the Chicago area landscape -- estimates say the city hosts as many as 80,000 bungalows in areas north, south, and west -- it is a home design that has largely disappeared from modern residential construction. Expensive to build with brick and rarely maximizing a home's available land space, bungalows do not mesh with today's new home trends.
The Sullivans' project would be a new venture for many involved, calling for fresh designs on a century-old home style.
"We are always cognizant of wanting to fit in with the surroundings, and stress that with our clients, but we had never attempted to recreate a turn-of-the-century bungalow before," said Chad Halverson of Vertex Properties, the Sullivans' general contractor.
Reinvented and resurrected
Along with Halvorson, Ron Meadows, the head of Vertex, and architect Mark Michonski of Chicago-based Jonathan Splitt Architects, the Sullivans reviewed their initial plans for the once-standing bungalow and elected to stay consistent with those elements -- expanding the living space and modernizing the floor plan.
"We treated this like rebuilding the home that was there before and then adding a second story," Michonski said.
Obeying the footprint of the original home, the Sullivans relocated key functions, creating a more usable kitchen and family room while working to retain the bungalow's long-admired characteristics, such as a formal living room and dining room. The couple even included some of the bungalow's most intricate details, including the red-brick exterior patterns, stained-glass windows and stone planters.
Creating a historic Chicago bungalow in the 21st century, the Sullivans also added a number of eco-friendly features as a member of Chicago's Green Home program, including a geothermal heating system, expanding foam insulation made from soybean oil, and a tankless water heater.
This past June, the Sullivans moved into their completed bungalow. Boxes filled rooms and work remained, but the finish line emerged within view. As the Fourth of July approached, the couple embarked upon one of their final tasks: adding grass to their city lot, one that had been littered with dirt and debris for over a year.
"It was all such an emotional roller coaster, so it was a huge relief to know that we were nearing the end and had accomplished our goal," Tammy said.
Today, the couple's home blends into a block filled with historic Chicago bungalows, looking as much the 90-year old home as their neighbors'. Yes, it looks fresh and new, but also in place, a replica of Chicago's past in a hard-charging present.
"People ask me, 'Where does the addition start?' and that's a compliment to the work done here," Andy said.
From disaster, the Sullivans found comfort in the past and a plan for the future. In the historic brick bungalow, as much a piece of the Chicago scene as hot dog stands and church steeples, they found home.
"We never plan on moving," Andy said. "For us, this is it."
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