Case Study: Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

Objective:

Iron Hill Brewery’s existing menus were a heavier, custom café style cover with printed inserts. They wanted to revise their menu cover design to make it more guest-friendly in terms of an easier-to-handle weight and size, incorporate multiple pages that could be updated quickly, while reinforcing the brand.

Solution:

The new menu front covers feature a custom, split-wrap construction in textured black and deep gold faux leather, with a black matte foil debossed logo across the surface. The interior covers feature two pockets: a horizontal bar pocket for specials and a hidden pocket open at the spine. Multiple printed menu sheets are inserted into the hidden pocket for easy menu updates. Inside front and back cover panels are wrapped with full-color images of custom murals by local artist Jeff Schaller that are featured in the restaurants.

As Iron Hill’s design firm, we were given the challenge of updating the current bulky menus to a fresh sleek look while keeping the sophistication of the brand. At the time, Iron Hill was working with 10 different menus to cover operational needs. We were able to consolidate most of them into two menus, Core and Bar. With that, we needed a durable cover that would allow the flexibility to change out the menu twice a year. We had been in contact with several menu manufactures, but felt that Menu Masters offered the best solutions. Their knowledge of materials and production was instrumental in the success of the new design.

We had a great experience throughout the collaboration process and really sensed that Menu Masters understood us and our brand’s identity. Creating a menu is a long, thoughtful process that requires constant tinkering and taste testing, and we wanted the new menu to represent the vibrant colors and flavors associated with our food. The team we assembled spent two years on this project and I’m very happy with the results we achieved.