Case Study
LU LU Craft Bar + Kitchen: Farm-to-Table Dining in Richland, WA
Richland, WA
About the Project
LU LU Craft Bar + Kitchen is an authentic family owned farm-to-table restaurant, owned and operated by the Easterday family, who have been farming and ranching in the Columbia River Basin since 1958.
The Challenge
The challenge was to launch a new 8,500 square foot waterfront restaurant brand overlooking the marina on the banks of the Columbia River and successfully compete with two highly established restaurant brands.
Our Solution
The Gilkey group leveraged the Easterday family name and their love for farming and ranching creating a farm-to-table brand that resonates with the local Tri-Cities patrons. The Easterday farming and ranching philosophy is simple, raise crops and animals with care and respect and tend gently to the soil that sustains it all. The Gilkey team recommended the LU LU brand’s primary organizing principle be one and the same—leverage their family’s passion of bringing quality products to the table while providing guests with the comfort of knowing their food was responsibly raised. This is what the Easterdays have been doing for four generations and is a great source of pride for the family. This same philosophy is also found at LU LU’s Craft Bar + Kitchen.
Services Provided
The Gilkey Restaurant Consulting Group assumed the role of project manager, leading the team in the creation of this new 8,500 square foot waterfront restaurant. Our team’s services included creation of all branding elements, interior design, kitchen and bar design, menu development, recipe development, development and implementation of all front of house and culinary operating systems, management training, coordination of pre-opening team member training, and orchestration of concept launch.
After the opening of LU Lu’s, Craft Bar + Kitchen in 2018, LU LU’s owners asked the Gilkey team to rebrand their first restaurant concept, Three Eyed Fish. The Gilkey group assisted with menu development, kitchen design, recipe development and opening training of the Chefs and hourly kitchen team. Three Eyed Fish now enjoys strong reviews from the community and enjoys double-digit sales increases.