Marin Joe's

Marin Joe's Restaurant screen shot

This culinary keystone wanted to celebrate 50 years in business by establishing an Internet presence. The Marin Joe's web site gives visitors highlights of the restaurant's rich history, menus, and event planning resources.

Scope 3 Design developed a site that showcases essential content with a look and feel that matches the sense of tradition one feels when they enter the restaurant. Working within the small budget to a create a design that would be quick to build and pleasing to the eye was an added challenge.

  • Defining the Problem
    With new haut cuisine restaurants springing up around them, Marin Joe's lack of web site just wasn't cutting it. The problem was, they aren't like those other restaurants. They're one of the oldest businesses in the entire town and any web site had to convey the restaurant's trend-bucking personality. Typically people already know the restaurant, but they don't know business hours, what other services the restaurant provides, and if they want take-out, they've probably lost the menu.
  • Defining the Audience
    The audience is the next generation of Marin Joe's patrons. They want the info, all of it. This new crowd is discriminating and organized. Often they decide whether or not to visit a restaurant depending on how convenient the experience will be for them. They expect a restaurant to have its entire menu and business info at their browser's disposal 24 hours a day.
  • Exploring Creative Solutions
    The solution was to give the audience the information they wanted. Plain and simple, without lots of romance. The extensive lunch and dinner menus were configured to fit on single pages, as was the wine list. For those hunting for basic numbers, every page holds an attactive box that calls out the restaurant's phone number and business hours.

    For look and feel, a distressed beige was used along with the family's crest to infer tradition. Minimal images and a simple left-hand navigation menu reduce clutter and suggests that the restaurant is a relaxing environment to talk it up with old friends and enjoy the flavor of Marin Joe's down-home style.