BAR CHIDO
Let’s taco ‘bout it.
Bar Chido is the newest concept from restauranteur, Sam Vlahos and his hospitality group. With a focus on making amazing tacos and refreshing tequila cocktails, they wanted to design their brand for a post-pandemic experience and infuse it with an energy that could deliver good times before people even walked through the door.
Our Services
Brand Strategy
Art Direction
Logo Design
Copywriting
Packaging
Video Production
Menu Design
Interior Design
Typography
Firing up a cool cantina.
Bar Chido was looking for a brand partner to help bring creative solutions to bring their new cantina concept to life. The goal was to create a high-concept experience that you’d expect to find in the downtown restaurant district and bring it to life in the suburbs, and drive natural buzz that would put the establishment in a league of its own.
While nearing the launch date of May 5, 2020, the pandemic forced everyone involved to re-think components of the concept. EightySeven and the Bar Chido team collaborated for over a year developing new creative solutions, processes, and ideas to design a post-COVID dining experience.
Brand Visuals
Brand Storyboards
Visual Identity
Graphic Elements & Illustration
Typography
Art Direction
Brand Guidelines
Photography
Hand-made tortillas demand a hand-made typeface.
With the identity, we wanted a look that felt welcoming and warm, without feeling fake. With a pastel color palate taking inspiration from the personality-rich building colors of Mexico, there is an inherent “vintage” feel to the identity without feeling old.
The logo typeface ended up being a hand-drawn typeface that suggests a touch of “hand-crafted.” While the primary typeface used across the identity is Champion, used for its flexible width and ties to vintage boxing posters, we allow our type to become its own strong visual design element.
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Combining elements of all the initial stylescapes, Bar Chido and EightySeven collaborated together drive the overall direction for bringing the brand to life.
In an effort to amplify the fun of the Bar Chido experience, EightySeven shifted the focus of the brand’s colors from rich reds and yellows to a softer and friendlier brand palette of pastel pink, blue, and green.
The Bar Chido logo and font were also redesigned by hand to add unique touches to every letter, bringing a human touch to the brand. Even the mascot, Señor Chido, went through a complete reimagining.
"Originally, he was supposed to be a cactus, but after everything that’s happened, we all agreed we needed something friendlier and more inviting. So Maxwell and his team ended up creating this donkey character everyone loves."
Brand Visuals
Brand Storyboards
Visual Identity
Graphic Elements & Illustration
Typography
Art Direction
Brand Guidelines
Photography
“Over a year of working with EightySeven, it made me realize that my restaurant is just more than a logo and a name. I wasn’t prepared for how EightySeven could truly bring my idea to life….
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…From slogans, to color schemes, to quirky sayings, Max and his team truly thought of all the possibilities. He is the first person I email when I need clarification on something or need help brainstorming.
After working over a year together, this will be my first restaurant brand launch with EightySeven. When the opportunity is there for another brand, they will be my first call.”
Sam Vlahos, Owner and General Manager at Bar Chido
Needing to make a pandemic pivot.
With the project beginning in February 2020, regulations concerning indoor dining were being updated on an almost weekly basis. Leading the Bar Chido team and EightySeven to work together to pivot concepts and design with extra precautions in response to COVID-19. The first feature that guests might notice is the set of windows that runs across the face of the restaurant. This open space provides Bar Chido's indoor dining area with proper ventilation while opening up the entire dining experience.
Initially conceived for drive-thru purposes, Bar Chido’s custom takeout window was also reimagined to optimize the experience for walk ups. Now, guests can grab a to-go order with minimal contact. "I think it will still be fun that you walk up and grab your food and go," Vlahos said.
Plans remain in place to eventually convert the window into another concept in the future, providing even more operational flexibility for the Bar Chido team, while also offering a more mobile and unique experience for guests who are on the go.
