Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken is stepping into a more modern era. That transition includes a brand refresh that debuted earlier this year and a new restaurant design for Lee’s Famous slated for 2024.
Lee’s tasked us with redefining the experience in its entirety, with their core value of bringing people together to share a heartwarming meal at the center. For the new restaurant prototype, this meant considering patrons as well as franchisees.
For This Legacy and the Next
As with the brand identity, it was important to modernize the experience without taking away from the Lee’s heritage—building on the brand’s legacy while creating brand recognition for new customers.
With the family in mind, our prototype design for Lee’s is open and spacious, allowing families to gather around the tables and enjoy meals together. Vaulted and beamed ceilings over the main dining area can be seen from the entrance, inviting customers in to sit, relax, and eat. The Lee’s iconic red and yellow serve a leading role, strategically applied to the design to reinforce the sense of warmth and comfort for which Lee’s is known.
Wood flooring, natural light via large windows, and modern light fixtures provide moments of familiarity as well as surprise and delight. Elements like Helen, a friendly and inviting chicken, bring fresh energy and act as a new beacon for the brand.
Ryan Weaver, CEO of Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken recently shared his thoughts on the new prototype with QSR Magazine saying,
“As we grow and evolve the Lee’s brand, we also seek ways to attract new franchisees. Our new prototype offers both existing and new partners a modern design that streamlines operations and enables them to perform better while also benefiting their bottom line. Our new design can also be adapted for our existing restaurants, and conversion opportunities.”
A Complete Experience
With the intent of best-in-class in all dimensions, the new Lee’s restaurant prototype features a completely redefined drive-thru experience, signage, counter & queue, and patio and exterior offerings. Hospitality is a major influence in this design, which we’ve introduced by making every Lee’s experience “famous” for the guest, franchisee, employee, and so many more.
Walking the balance of corporate and franchise ownership, this design will serve as a modular kit- of-parts to inform and scale the future of the Lee’s brand experience as intended.
