SĒR Steak + Spirits
Rebranding a Dallas icon.
When the Hilton Anatole approached us to help rebrand the former space of the legendary restaurant Nana, we were given a single, clear objective – avoid being “just another steakhouse.”
Armed with the country’s most impressive collection of antique “car mascots” (what we today call hood ornaments) as inspiration and decoration, we set out to redefine the old-school, often stuffy named-after-the-owner steakhouse scene. The duality of the fresh new moniker spoke both to the essence of the restaurant as well as its iconic skyline views, with the accent over the “E” subtly nodding to its location atop the Anatole. Interesting mascot names such as “Pathfinder Pierrot” and “Spirit of Ecstasy” christened private dining rooms and signature cocktails, and bar coasters told the fascinating and tragic tales behind several hood ornaments. Striking black-and-white photography transformed the mascots into art on the website and restaurant walls, while the menus were informed with a clean and elegant aesthetic. The result was nothing less than a new breed of Dallas steakhouse.