Rezaz, located in the Biltmore Village area of south Asheville has been a staple of the restaurant scene for 16 years. The new owners, formerly employees; pastry chef and line chef, stayed true to the original vision of the restaurant while testing new recipes for the first few years. A major expansion/renovation was on the not too distant horizon, and the owners wanted to reposition… freshen up their message, website and other brand assets to speak to the new menu and significance of food while still paying homage to the original owners vision. They called on Storypowered to help.

In a town revered for its culinary scene, how do you make a restaurant stand out above the noise authentically? The restaurant was doing well but had room for improvement. The owners didn’t feel the story spoke to who they were, the special chemistry that created cutting edge Mediterranean food. With the upcoming renovation and expansion, they wanted to assure a build up, and successful grand opening and beyond.

Through a brand immersion, a deeper understanding of where they had been, their attempts to market and brand themselves became clear. Their vision for where they wanted things to go was defined along with a competitive analysis and an international search of what other noted Mediterranean restaurants were doing. Important was identifying that everyone we talked to loved the restaurant but for some reason hadn’t been there in years. An ownable brand platform was created, with storyboards and a presentation Zen powerpoint, to excitement and applauds.

The new voice and feel were integrated into all touchpoints. The team took over the social platforms, deployed a focused digital marketing campaign to reignite local interest, repositioned the website, signage and new print campaigns.