Gander Mountain's Tall Tales-Real Food Restaurant Identity and Design Announced

Duffy & Partners Announces Identity and Design for Gander Mountain's Tall Tales-Real Food Restaurant

An Inside Look at the Design Behind the Brand

MINNEAPOLIS-- June 02, 2008 --Global design firm, Duffy & Partners announces the addition of another client to its hospitality portfolio. Gander Mountain, the nation's largest retail network of stores for fishing, hunting, outdoor lifestyle, camping, and marine apparel, products and services, recently opened its new store in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. A feature of the store is its Tall Tales-Real Food restaurant. Working closely with Gander Mountain, Duffy & Partners developed concept naming, identity design, creative development for packaging, menus and promotional items for the restaurant. Additionally, they collaborated on the interior and environmental design aspects.

As a leading retailer in the outdoor enthusiast segment, Gander Mountain saw the opportunity to add a new dimension to its store experience. With an eye toward attracting more women and a desire to increase shopping time, Gander Mountain determined the addition of a uniquely branded restaurant offering would be a smart idea and turned to Duffy & Partners for its hospitality design expertise. The team behind the project included Rick Webb and Shawn Trentlage a triad that's partnered with great success on several other projects.

Duffy & Partners is a leader in brand and identity design for the hospitality industry. Under the direction of renowned designer, Joe Duffy, the firm has created identities for a wide variety of restaurants and hotels.

"We understand that a restaurant needs more than good food, it needs an identity," said Joe Duffy, chairman of Duffy & Partners. "We used design to create an experience that embraces the sprit of Gander Mountain. Designing an in-store restaurant environment that enriches the overall shopping experience promotes engaged and happy customers and thus more business."

Duffy explains how his firm and Gander Mountain created the restaurant name, Tall Tales-Real Food, to further support the overall experience. "The name is creative take on the tradition of the art of storytelling that accompanies many outdoor sports such as fishing, hunting and camping," said Duffy. "The tagline, 'Real Food', serves as a counterpoint and is the basis behind the menu-pizzas, salads and sandwiches made with fresh ingredients, served in smart portions."

Duffy & Partners created an identity that delivers a sense of discovery and wit, through the thoughtful design of both negative and positive spaces. The environment transitions from the energetic retail feel of the Gander Mountain store to a modern interpretation of the American lodge, inspired by simple elements, artfully designed-logs and timbers, dry stacked stone, leather upholstery and big dramatic windows. The warmth of the open fire pizza oven invites guests to pull up a chair, draw a frosty mug, tell their tales and plan the purchases for upcoming escapades.

Like a weekend in the country, the environment provides an opportunity to chill out, relax and get re-energized. Retailers are pulling out all the stops to attract shoppers and their families and keep them in their stores longer. Welcome to the age of "retail-tainment."

About Duffy & Partners

Duffy & Partners strives to create design to enrich everyday life. Founded in 1984, Duffy has established a reputation for using compelling and strategic design to help multiply the marketplace value of their client's brands. Duffy's award-winning work spans all design disciplines including corporate and brand identity development, packaging design, new media, and environmental design. Clients have included, among others: American Eagle Outfitters, Coca-Cola, The Islands of the Bahamas, Brown-Forman, Kellogg's, McDonald's, Sony, Starbucks, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Thymes and Toyota. Additional information can be found at www.duffy.com.

Contacts

For Duffy & Partners
Roepke Public Relations
Katherine Roepke, 612-677-1717
ksroepke@roepkepr.com