O+A’s challenge at OpenTable was to bring restaurant design to an office environment. But because the online reservations company serves all kinds of restaurants it was important that the office not evoke any particular cuisine or style of dining—just the broad culture of food and restaurants as a whole.
O+A’s challenge at OpenTable was to bring restaurant design to an office environment. But because the online reservations company serves all kinds of restaurants it was important that the office not evoke any particular cuisine or style of dining—just the broad culture of food and restaurants as a whole.
City San Francisco, CA
Year 2013
Size 50,000 sq ft
Team Primo Orpilla, Denise Cherry, Clem Soga, Kroeun Dav, Jeorge Jordan, Will Chu, Olivia Ward, Sarunya Wongjodsri, Emily Brooks, Al Socias, Alma Lopez, Amie Zemlicka, Maleesa Pollock, Alex Bautista
Photographer Jasper Sanidad
OpenTable distributed a survey to employees asking for actual table stories, real life restaurant experiences from their own lives. O+A’s graphic design team pulled quotes from those stories and turned them into a wall of pithy phrases. Between “Bring on the lobster!” and “She had her dress on backwards” this wall captures a spirit that infuses the whole company. Call it festive.
OpenTable has offices in San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Mexico City and Frankfurt. It makes reservations for over 30,000 restaurants worldwide. One consequence of such a broad reach is that the San Francisco HQ frequently hosts visitors with some expertise in food. O+A built a spacious, well-equipped, centrally located kitchen right off the reception area to give the company a place to entertain.
“OpenTable is a great place to work. The overarching goal of the new office design was to make a great space to work in.”
The meeting spaces at OpenTable are meant to evoke the universal attraction of dining with others. Food as a unifier—it’s an idea OpenTable’s office confirms every day. “We had particular hopes for the new space and we’ve absolutely seen them pay off,” Ann Shepherd says. “People who used to eat lunch at their desks are eating in the communal spaces now.”