11 TRENDS IN DINING DESIGN FOR THE NEXT GENERATION Embracing the community also means


embracing residents’ families. Previously, family members tended to come take residents out to eat off campus. However, Plumadore said, one effect of new, more attractive food service options is that fam- ily members are more likely to visit and eat with residents because the atmosphere more resembles the world they live in and they see no need to leave. “Now you can come see Mom and Dad


and have a great meal, and our prices are very reasonable, if not less than our com- petitors,” Plumadore said. “They’re opting to come here.”


Assuming an identity Dopson said a natural result of moving away from a central dining room and


moving toward restaurant concepts is giving these new dining spaces specific identities with unique names, brands, and logos. “Treating them this way gives them a


more complete feel of a true dining experi- ence,” Dopson said. Maddalena said creating an identity and


brand for a restaurant often is the initial step in planning a new venue and that identity can guide the design process. An identity helps residents form attachments to a venue. “For residents, it becomes instead of just


‘Let’s meet in the restaurant’ to the restau- rant actually having a name that means something,” Maddalena said. Bremhorst said incorporating local ele-


ments such as artifacts and photography can give venues a unique personality that appeals to locals. “We do research on popular local res- taurants and country clubs and the type of local dining venues that a lot of people are familiar with and have an attachment to,” Maddalena said. “And then we design with that place in mind.”


New technology The integration of new technology into senior living dining design has


been largely unambitious so far, experts say, but some initial steps are apparent. Plumadore said Erickson Living has been piloting the use of handheld ordering de- vices in some of its venues and has seen improved efficiency, including better accu- racy in ordering and service time improve- ments of between six and 11 minutes. In the pilot, residents use tablets that are at the


18 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE MAY/JUNE 2018 The exhibition kitchen designed by Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction at The Arlington of Naples in Naples, Fla.


table to order. The improved time efficiency in restaurants that could serve 350 to 400 residents in a three-hour time span is huge, Plumadore said. “The tablets become helpful in manag- ing wait times,” Plumadore said. “It doesn’t prohibit residents who want to stay longer, but anytime we can reduce service time the better off we are, and the better our resi- dents’ satisfaction is.” Ernst said HRA also has implemented


the use of tablets for ordering in its main restaurants, where a server takes the order at the table with a tablet and those orders are printed in the proper areas of the kitch- en. In addition, HRA has started to use digi- tal media displays in place of paper menus. Eventually, Ernst said, residents will be able to order directly from the digital displays. Maddalena said some communities offer an


app for residents that provides them with a no- tice for special dining events and daily menus. Plumadore and others say they expect


technology to play an increasingly central role in dining design and service in the future. For instance, Plumadore would like to devel- op a program one day that allows residents to view wait times at a campus’ various venues on their phone before deciding where to eat.


Working with residents No matter the new offerings a senior living community offers, experts say


working with residents throughout the pro- cess is essential.


“Every single community is different and


who knows that better than the residents,” Fik said. Designers and administrators say they


use open meetings for residents, collabora- tion with resident design committees, and focus groups, among other tactics for learn- ing residents’ preferences. Some seek input from older adults in the local market who might be bound for senior living one day. Then, once the new venues are in place,


Ernst said it can take encouragement to get residents, particularly long-time ones, to use them. HRA has used a variety of in- centives and special programming, such as happy hour specials and trivia nights, to get residents in the doors. “Sometimes, you have to work to get resi-


dents to taste all of the new products and un- derstand the features of the new venues—to get them introduced to it,” Ernst said. Plumadore said taking current residents’


preferences seriously is essential but so is considering the prospective residents and the residents of the future. “We have a kind of symbiotic relationship


with residents and make sure we understand what they want and what they see happen- ing, but we also want to consider what’s going on outside that they may not know that they want yet,” Plumadore said. “It’s kind of a balance of hearing feedback from current and future residents and then also saying, ‘Where do we think the industry’s going next?’”


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