Poke Loa was the first restaurant to bring poke, a native Hawaiian dish, to Louisiana with a quick, casual service environment that lets customers create a customized, health-conscious, and locally sourced dish of fresh seafood, rice, and toppings. To match the light, healthy cuisine, Poke Loa wanted a clean, bright, and airy aesthetic, with inviting indoor and outdoor seating. As Poke Loa expanded across South Louisiana, they asked MADE to design new restaurant spaces in Baton Rouge and Mandeville, in projects that ranged from full interior build-outs to renovation of existing restaurant space. 

With the cold ingredients making less rigorous demands on service spaces as compared to other restaurants, more economical finishes were used throughout the space. To provide aesthetic continuity across all locations, pops of color in an otherwise all-white environment were used to highlight the company’s branding and guide the customer’s attention to different features across the restaurant, such as wall displays explaining how to create your poke bowl. Wood elements create warm dining areas for those patrons looking for a more leisurely dining experience. Finally, unique wallpaper allows fun opportunities for social media engagement, a key visual aspect of the brand’s success. 

SIZE: 2,530 SQ. FT. (BATON ROUGE), 1,330 SQ. FT. (MANDEVILLE)

Project Team:

Principle in Charge:
David Merlin

Project Team:
Elliott Petterson, Phillip Geiman

Consultants:

MEP Engineer:
Salas O’Brien

General Contractor:

Perrier Esquerré Contractors