Panther Pizza is a small cafeteria/restaurant for students, faculty and staff at Georgia State University (GSU). They serve Pizza, Pasta and Sandwiches. The interior of the restaurant had not been updated in about 10 years, and it was time for a renovation. For the construction and renovation, GSU reached out to Dennis Lippy at Lippy Construction, who then contacted Stephen on our team to come take a look at the project back in November.
The plan was for the renovation to take place while the students were on their holiday break as not to disturb normal business operations. This was not our standard sign project with GSU, but rather a completely different direction for signage at the University. The design team of Chris Connelly and Jacolby Chapman of the university worked to tackle this renovation.
Exterior Restaurant Sign
The overall feel for the project, in addition to the signage, went from retro to modern. The old exterior sign was a lighted can with exposed neon tubes on the face — definitely a retro look.
The plan for the new exterior sign was a more modern halo (a.k.a. backlit) logo sign using more energy-efficient LED lighting and a matte finish on the face. This gives the restaurant a whole new feel before anyone even walks through the door.
Interior Restaurant Signs
Once the plans for the exterior sign was approved, it was time to work on plans for the interior counter signage and menu boards. Stephen was provided with a design and asked to come up with best materials and solution for the signage.
Pizza, Pasta & Sandwiches – Station signs
The first set of signs were for the separate stations where Pizza, Pasta and Sandwiches were served. The new design looked very modern and the solution needed match the overall design. Stephen and Matt discussed the project to determine the materials that should be used and the best way to install the signage to maintain the clean lines dictated by the overall design.
The solution they came up with included using 3 different layers: The bottom, layer would use a 3mm brushed aluminum MaxMetal (dibond) to provide the backer for the signs. Next came a 6mm black PVC layer with a matte-laminated print. The final layer consisted of something we are quite familiar with providing for GSU: dimensional lettering constructed of 3mm black PVC with a 1/16″ brushed aluminum plastic veneer attached to the sign using VHB (very high bond) tape.
Changeable Menu Boards
Menu Boards which could be changed out easily by the staff were next. We decided to use 2 layers of acrylic: a dark blue backer to match GSU’s colors with a clear piece on the front. This would allow the inserts to be legible and interchangeable. The two layers we used were sandwiched together with 1-1/2” aluminum standoffs. The layered effect gave the signs a more modern look to fit with the rest of the décor and renovation.
Counter Signs
In addition to the menu boards and overhead station signs, we also created signs for the front of the counters at each station to give an overall clean look to the design. For these, we mounted 3mm brushed aluminum MaxMetal to the front of each counter with six 1-1/2” standoffs to give the depth and dimension. On the Pizza station, we added the logo created for the renovation using printed vinyl with matte laminate. After all this was installed, it was on to something that Pinnacle is very familiar with: Wall Graphics!
Final Stage – Wall Graphics
Jacolby Chapman from GSU used some of the images of Student Athletes, along with crowd photos to create a one-of-a-kind feel to the restaurant. These graphics helped turn Panther Pizza from an old, retro restaurant to a hip, modern GSU sports restaurant. We also decided to use matte laminate to give the graphics a unique look.
After all was said and done, it took a whole team to design, produce, and install this large project in time for the students, faculty and staff to return after the holiday break.
This project was a fun and exciting experience and we look forward to working on more of these projects in the future! Being a full-service sign company, we can handle all your signage needs for any renovation project such as this. The first step is to contact us by filling out our free quote form.
