Ribs & Burgers redesigns to elevate brand in crowded market

The revamped venue features bold art to boost dine-in appeal.

Ribs & Burgers is rebranding itself as a more premium fast-food destination, starting with a $500,000 renovation of its Perth location as it tries to stand out in an increasingly saturated casual dining market.

The Perth restaurant, which has been operating for over a decade, reopened on 2 July with a fresh design that features a ceiling-spanning artwork running the full length of the restaurant.

The seating layout frames the artwork, while traditional branding was replaced with visual cues inspired by Australian architecture and meat culture. Renovations began on 8 June.

Brand manager Gareth Howard said the revamp is part of a repositioning strategy that prioritises in-store dining and quality customer experiences. The brand partnered with interior designer COOOP to oversee the redesign of its 14 restaurants.

“Whether or not it’s a full transformation like the one we’ve done in Perth is yet to be seen,” he told QSR Media. Each restaurant will have its own unique designs, following the artwork theme of the Perth restaurant, he added.

The decision to renovate is backed by internal data pointing to changing customer behaviour post-pandemic. While more than 90% of business once came from dine-in guests, that figure has dropped to 65%, with the rest split between takeaway and delivery.

“We want people in our restaurants,” Howard said. “We want them to stay and enjoy the space and take time there and spend money and probably get drinks and second drinks and enjoy our product in its absolute best version.”

The redesign is intended to create an environment that encourages diners to linger—resulting in higher average spending and improved brand engagement.

Howard said the move is also about differentiation. “Around three years ago, the market was heavily weighted towards cheaper products with not as good quality ingredients, and smaller burger-sized patties centred on extremely fast food. We want to do the opposite,” he said.

In line with that, Ribs & Burgers has upgraded dine-in presentation with ceramic plates and glassware. It’s also phasing out its takeaway packaging and has increased the size of its burger patties—now 150 grams for regular burgers and 160 grams for Wagyu.

Abundance would be the key theme of their menu innovation in the next 12 months, Howard said.

The focus on dine-in aligns with recent consumer spending data. In April, household expenditure on hotels, cafes, and restaurants rose 2.2%, reversing a 1% decline in the previous month. Year on year, spending rose 7.7%, according to government data released on 5 June.

Howard expects economic headwinds to worsen but remains optimistic. “Our focus in the next 12 to 18 months is that we will try to be as competitive in value for money and offering as we probably can,” he said, noting that some competitors have raised prices by as much as 30% over the past year.

Ribs & Burgers plans to target city centres and high-footfall areas for expansion. It also seeks to broaden its menu to include skewers as part of its premium repositioning, he added.