Thom Lessner Interview MP3.
Lantern version of the story.
Email interview with Elizabeth Lessner, the owner of Dirty Frank's, after the jump.
JP: The decor in all of your restaurants is pretty idiosyncratic and each
one has a real sense of identity - yet it isn't something that would
be directly apparent to be popular or appeal to a lot of people... but
it does. Any thoughts?
one has a real sense of identity - yet it isn't something that would
be directly apparent to be popular or appeal to a lot of people... but
it does. Any thoughts?
EL: First, thanks for noticing! We created each restaurant with a very specific theme in mind and it was very important to us that every single piece we placed inside the dining room supported that theme. We do have quite a bit of clutter but each item is part of a larger collection, theme or idea. We were also working on a shoestring budget so we weren't able to get exactly what we wanted all the time. We had to improvise a lot and build things from scraps we found in thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales. The use of improvised materials made the themes sometimes more rugged and DIY which we hoped lent character.
A good example is the Surly Girl chandelier. We really wanted a large chandelier to go with the whole bordello theme. We priced very large, ornate chandeliers and they began at well over $20,000.00! We could not afford that. Instead, we purchased chandeliers from garage sales (ten of them total) and hung them at different lengths to resemble a real chandelier. Then, we traded beers for beads with our friends at Byzantium (a Short North bead shop) who strung together ornate plastic beads for us. The whole thing is both hideous and beautiful and costed us a whopping $100. It reminds you of a big gorgeous chandelier and after a few high-proof beers it even resembles one!
JP: From what I understand each of the restaurants corresponds to the
taste of one of your family members, could you talk about the process
of conceptualizing the interiors / personality?
JP: From what I understand each of the restaurants corresponds to the
taste of one of your family members, could you talk about the process
of conceptualizing the interiors / personality?
EL: That actually happened very much by accident! I realized it much after the fact. I really look up to my older sister, Bridget. Betty's was my first restaurant and the ideas and themes of Betty's remind me so much of her. Betty's is bold, feminist, daring, mischievous and fun, very much like my sister. Surly Girl Saloon is often described as my alter ego. My brother co-owns Tip Top Kitchen and helped design it so it resembles a lot of his tastes and style. My other brother Thom designed all of the art for Dirty Frank's and the art represents a lot of his interests and passions: his band, rock, skateboarding and baseball heroes. My mother, Diana Lessner, was the lead designer for all the restaurants and really helped mold our ideas for the space into tangible results.
JP: I felt like I almost was at a Thom Lessner gallery show - is the work
for sale? Was a lot of thought put into where each piece would be?
JP: I felt like I almost was at a Thom Lessner gallery show - is the work
for sale? Was a lot of thought put into where each piece would be?
EL: It does resemble a Thom Lessner art show! Thom is a resident artist at Space 1026, an artist collective in Philadelphia. He does art for skateboard companies, a music school, commissioned pieces, Snickers, Time Warner, Shepard Fairy's company Obey!, books, magazines, t-shirt companies, rock bands (right now he's doing art for the Darkness) as well as many others. His website is www.thomlessner.com and yes, he sells his art and prints via the site. Thom's rock band Sweatheart is featured in a lot of his current works. Thom did hang the pieces in the shop, it took him two days to lay it all out and another several days to hang and secure each piece. Thom also created the wallpaper that is hung in the back hallway and bathrooms of the restaurant as well as our logo.
JP: How much do you think the decor is responsible for a restaurant's
success at the end of the day?
JP: How much do you think the decor is responsible for a restaurant's
success at the end of the day?
EL: I think it depends very much on the particular restaurant. Personally, I really hope to create an experience for our guests so to me, it's very important. My hope is that customers can escape and enjoy their surroundings. If we can get a laugh out of them, we love that.
THE STORY I WROTE:
Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace has as much to offer your eyes as it does your stomach.
Opened this year as the fourth restaurant in Elizabeth Lessner’s growing local business, it features artwork by her brother, Thom Lessner, for its interior decoration.
Besides Chicago-style hot dogs, Dirty Frank’s offers items like cheddar fries, slushies and macaroni and cheese. To Thom Lessner this matches the spirit of his artwork, which depicts the colorful rock stars and baseball players of the 1980s.
“If you think about how ridiculous, like, cheese fries, tater tots and hot dogs are it’s just as ridiculous as the paintings on the wall,” he said. “Like with David Lee Roth, I love that guy so much. He’s so ridiculous and outrageous but I love him for it and hot dogs are basically the same thing. They’re disgusting but they’re so awesome.”
Like Elizabeth Lessner’s other restaurants, Surly Girl Saloon, Betty’s Food and Spirits and Tip Top Kitchen, the design of Dirty Frank’s had to be both memorable and cheap.
“We were working on a shoestring budget so we weren't able to get exactly what we wanted all the time. We had to improvise a lot and build things from scraps we found in thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales,” stated Elizabeth Lessner in an email.
Each of Elizabeth Lessner’s other restaurants share something in common with one of her family members.
“Betty's is bold, feminist, daring, mischievous and fun, very much like my sister. Surly Girl Saloon is often described as my alter ego. My brother (Tim) co-owns Tip Top Kitchen and helped design it so it resembles a lot of his tastes and style,” stated Elizabeth Lessner.
So when it came time to decorate Dirty Frank’s it was natural to turn to her younger brother Thom. He is an artist and musician who used to be a staple of the Columbus arts scene and now resides in Philadelphia, working at the artist collective Space 1026.
At first Thom had problems with the large space and the freedom to do anything he wanted. “Options freak me out,” he said.
But after two anxiety filled days his sister came to the rescue.
“My sister was like just get a grip, get over yourself. I believe in you, I want this to be you – this is your restaurant too. She hired me to make it look like how I wanted it to and not to do it for anybody else, which is such a cool thing,” Thom Lessner said.
One of the issues that Thom dealt with was the difference between designing a room for a family audience instead of the one found in art galleries.
But only his bloody painting of the rock star Andrew W.K made Thom waver when he was deciding what to put up in Dirty Frank’s.
“I don’t have kids and I don’t have a family that is cautious about that kind of stuff but I understand that it could be and I understand it is a business and you adapt to people’s taste. Put out your own thing but also make it marketable and you’ll have a good business then. Which I don’t so I’m glad my sister does,” Thom Lessner said.
Dirty Frank’s is located in downtown Columbus at 248 South Fourth Street.
If you are having trouble finding it remember it is the one that “looks like a fourteen year-old boy’s teenage bedroom,” as its designer says.
Opened this year as the fourth restaurant in Elizabeth Lessner’s growing local business, it features artwork by her brother, Thom Lessner, for its interior decoration.
Besides Chicago-style hot dogs, Dirty Frank’s offers items like cheddar fries, slushies and macaroni and cheese. To Thom Lessner this matches the spirit of his artwork, which depicts the colorful rock stars and baseball players of the 1980s.
“If you think about how ridiculous, like, cheese fries, tater tots and hot dogs are it’s just as ridiculous as the paintings on the wall,” he said. “Like with David Lee Roth, I love that guy so much. He’s so ridiculous and outrageous but I love him for it and hot dogs are basically the same thing. They’re disgusting but they’re so awesome.”
Like Elizabeth Lessner’s other restaurants, Surly Girl Saloon, Betty’s Food and Spirits and Tip Top Kitchen, the design of Dirty Frank’s had to be both memorable and cheap.
“We were working on a shoestring budget so we weren't able to get exactly what we wanted all the time. We had to improvise a lot and build things from scraps we found in thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales,” stated Elizabeth Lessner in an email.
Each of Elizabeth Lessner’s other restaurants share something in common with one of her family members.
“Betty's is bold, feminist, daring, mischievous and fun, very much like my sister. Surly Girl Saloon is often described as my alter ego. My brother (Tim) co-owns Tip Top Kitchen and helped design it so it resembles a lot of his tastes and style,” stated Elizabeth Lessner.
So when it came time to decorate Dirty Frank’s it was natural to turn to her younger brother Thom. He is an artist and musician who used to be a staple of the Columbus arts scene and now resides in Philadelphia, working at the artist collective Space 1026.
At first Thom had problems with the large space and the freedom to do anything he wanted. “Options freak me out,” he said.
But after two anxiety filled days his sister came to the rescue.
“My sister was like just get a grip, get over yourself. I believe in you, I want this to be you – this is your restaurant too. She hired me to make it look like how I wanted it to and not to do it for anybody else, which is such a cool thing,” Thom Lessner said.
One of the issues that Thom dealt with was the difference between designing a room for a family audience instead of the one found in art galleries.
But only his bloody painting of the rock star Andrew W.K made Thom waver when he was deciding what to put up in Dirty Frank’s.
“I don’t have kids and I don’t have a family that is cautious about that kind of stuff but I understand that it could be and I understand it is a business and you adapt to people’s taste. Put out your own thing but also make it marketable and you’ll have a good business then. Which I don’t so I’m glad my sister does,” Thom Lessner said.
Dirty Frank’s is located in downtown Columbus at 248 South Fourth Street.
If you are having trouble finding it remember it is the one that “looks like a fourteen year-old boy’s teenage bedroom,” as its designer says.
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