Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurants®, which first set the standard for "fresh" border cantina cuisine 25 years ago, is revitalizing its brand from the inside out. Hub Strategy, the San Francisco-based integrated creative agency, along with consulting group Results Thru Strategy, led the Chevys Fresh Mex brand creative strategy and redesign with a complete brand overhaul, including a new brand tone and voice to support menu, hospitality and guest engagement strategies.
See how the branding looked like before the rebranding below.
Chevys Fresh Mex President Brian Wright said the brand revitalization starts and ends with a focus on fresh. "We are focused on leading fresh in every sense, including a full culinary shift, new training and the pilot of a new 'La Cocina Fresca' concept in Sacramento," he said. "Hub has been an integral part of our team and will continue to lend strategic and creative support moving forward."
New posters
"Chevys started in the '80s and really initiated the fresh mex movement," said D.J. O'Neil, founder and creative director at Hub Strategy. "Years later and after changes in ownership, the brand lost its fresh look and feel. The new management decided it was time to re-inject a bunch of fun back into Chevys, and they hired us to re-discover Chevys irreverent voice and develop core creative as part of their overall rebranding efforts."
New drinks menu cover and inside spread
The Hub brand redesign is made up of hand-placed woodblock type and custom illustration, all framed in an aged look with a color palette inspired by true Mexican border cantinas. The voice is funny and lively. A sample headline includes: 'Authentic tequila shooters, just like the ones you don't remember from spring break '93.' Another headline, next to an illustration of a Mexican wrestler, says, 'Freshness standards tighter than my pants.'
New T-shirt designs
New Banner
"We were asked to look at all kinds of places in the restaurants where we could engage people with design and writing," said O'Neil. "And we applied a recharged voice to nearly everything: food drink menu design, in-store banners and posters, website, Facebook page, server uniforms and even the little rings around the napkins. We even rewrote and redesigned the mandated 'Employees must wash hands' sign for the restrooms. And it's pretty darn funny."
New food menu cover and inside spread
Advertising Agency: Hub Strategy
Creative Directors: DJ O'Neil & Peter Judd
Associate Creative Director: Jason Rothman
Director of Account Management: Annalyn Duke
Account Supervisor: Angelina Dilg
Account Coordinator: Tara Brinkman
Copywriters: Leona Frey, Linda Birkenstock, Chris Elzinga
Designers: Jason Rothman, Peter Judd, Ben King, Juan Leguizamon, Sean Mosher-Smith, Jeremy Payne
Illustrators: Jason Rothman, Ben King, Juan Leguizamon, Jeremy Payne
Director of Technology: Peter Shumar
