LEMONADE, Newport Beach

LEMONADE

by:Bon Abedeen / Patrick Chen

 

The concept is best described as Seasonal Southern California Comfort Food in a fast-casual cafeteria setting.

 

Hold onto your hats! The buzz has been consistent— This one feels bigger; more important, more universal, less trendy, and at the tip of the innovation triangle. Like the iPad of food, Southern California restaurant Lemonade is where all the developments of the last decade have come together to form one world-beater of a product. Maybe we are overstating it, but we don’t think so. We love Lemonade and think it is the future of food.

 

Lemonade was founded by chef Alan Jackson to “capture the L.A. spirit of adventure about food,” according to its website. The company bio goes on to state that Lemonade has “an appreciation of the freshest seasonal ingredients, and a desire to reinterpret familiar dishes with unexpected twists. The food is for people who care about what they eat. It’s clean, healthy, and inventive.” In layman’s terms, it is a modern take on a classic 1950s high-school cafeteria. Everyone can relate to the cafeteria because everyone went to school, and Lemonade has recreated it with better experience, while maintaining the emotional essence. The best part of this fast casual concept is that shoppers can eat quick, yet healthy in this grab and go lunch   and dinner venue.

Upon entering the restaurant Patrick and I noticed how clean everything looked. The interior was fresh, modern and inviting. The smell was wonderful and we could see that it was cafeteria style where we would get a tray and go on down the line to choose what we wanted. We noticed that each item in the line had a small sign/label informing each particular food item is as well as a symbol stating if its gluten free or vegan which is very helpful to health conscious people. Securing our spot at the table, we were able to then relax and take in the surroundings. Lemonade offered quite a familiar essence about it and it somehow reminded us of our childhood. Looking around the cafe we noticed that the tables were made out of DuPont Corian. Specially engineered to be both visually stunning and long lasting commercial product of surpassing beauty. This is seen is a virtually seamless solid-surface flowing through the kitchen, bath countertops and back-splashes, intricate inlays and textures, brilliant color and lighting effects — it’s all incorporated in a number of complex compound angles, curves and vertical surfaces.





Reflected 3form Wall - Chroma Vitamin C



Additionally, there were some truly phenomenal plastic looking square tiles on the wall. When we looked a little closer however, we noticed they were made completely of sustainable gypsum wall tile. We were captured by the restaurant’s decor: sunflowers, colorful chairs, tables, pots, pans, etc. The interior design is sophisticated, chic, fresh, modern and inviting with an analogous color scheme, and the use of ‘lemon slice shaped’ light fixture: picture perfect for any occasion.

Lemonade is a fast-casual modern cafeteria-style eatery, the brand is young, hip, colorful, and crisp, with elements of retro Americana that made us feel right at home. There is an Emotional Connection. To start, Lemonade has realized that a great hospitality experience has as much to do with how the business connects to its customers culturally as it does with what is being served. In the post-industrial age, having a great product is not enough; the emotional connection is paramount. This factor is a huge differentiator between a moderately successful company and a cultural juggernaut like Starbucks. Lemonade has the potential to be like Starbucks because the brand and experience are as good as the product. Everyone can relate to the cafeteria because everyone went to school, and Lemonade has recreated it with better food, service, and seating, while maintaining the emotional essence.

Stainless Steel Drop Down Ceiling
with LED recessed lighting

Recycled Wood Sittings
Stainless Steel Food Container

Lemonade features an open kitchen in the back so that customers can see their professional chefs creating artisan quality food and then moving it to the cafeteria-style trays on display.

 

The restaurant offers an abundance of seating in the bright, modern 3,800 square-foot space, which includes both indoor and outdoor seating, just steps away from the Fashion Island movie theater. We really liked the architecture and interior of Lemonade. We feel the materials work well and will hold up well over the years.

Next time you are here at Fashion Island, stop by Lemonade after a day of shopping or before/after catching a move to enjoy some delicious contemporary California cuisine.

Did we say how fascinated we are with the gigantic macaroon?  LOL!

 

Interior & Materials

  - Reflected 3Form Wall - Chroma Vitamin C

- Wood Panel Grille Ceiling

- Stainless Steel Drop Down Ceiling

- LED Recessed Lighting

- LED Pendant Light

- Stainless Steel Counter Top

- Recycled Wood Menu Sign

- Yellow Painted Structural Column

- Polished Concrete Flooring

- Sustainable Gypsum Wall Tile

- Green Wall Wall Paper