How to Design a Juice Bar Floor Plan, Layout and Blueprint
Juice bars are a great way to bring fresh fruit, veggies, and greens into a community. But many states require you to submit restaurant blueprints for permits first before opening your juice bar. Restaurant floor plans are a smart and necessary step for your business.
Craft a memorable experience for your guests and employees (and meet all the legal requirements for your juice bar) with a detailed juice bar floor plan. This guide will help you to get started, setting your juice bar up for long-term success.
RESOURCE Restaurant Floor Plan Templates
Use these restaurant floor plan templates to get inspired as you map, or reimagine, the layout and space setup for your restaurant.
What Is a Juice Bar Floor Plan?
It’s a map of the physical space of the store. Every single inch of space counts in your floor plans, both indoors and outdoors. Your blueprints and floor plans let you visualize how all the space of your juice bar will fit together.
Floor plans require a little creativity and some focused research – the floor plan must balance your vision for the juice bar with the accessibility of the space. Remember that when you’re designing floor plans, you’re also creating the experience that your guests and employees have in the space.
Juice bar floor plans should include:
The juice bar
Prep areas
The kitchen
The ordering queue
Dining and seating areas
Staff areas, offices, and break rooms
Your juice bar’s POS system and cashier stations
Restrooms
Dish area(s)
Doors
Windows
Emergency Exits
Accurate measurements of the space
Options for Creating a Juice Bar Floor Plan
Want to take a shot at designing it yourself? Don’t stress about not being an architect, artist, or designer – the good news is that there’s software preloaded with all the design elements you need to make designing your juice bar simple. SmartDraw, ConceptDraw, or CadPro are all reliable software that can create a custom blueprint for your juice bar.
If you decide to hire a designer or studio, they can help you bring your vision to life in full color. While you’ll have to give them some direction, they’ll be able to develop a focused aesthetic for your space and perfect the guest’s experience.
Whichever option you choose, go into the design process with an idea of how you want the juice bar to flow. Where will the kitchen be? Where will guests place and pick up orders? Do you have a designated area for mobile orders? As you answer these questions, consider how all of your guests will access and navigate your proposed layout.
Consider this example juice bar design from Restaurant Design 360:
Accessibility Requirements for Juice Bar Floor Plans
Your juice bar’s blueprints and floor plans must comply with the codes for public buildings set by your state, county, or city. Complying with building codes guarantees that your juice bar is accessible to all guests. But, as architect Justin Alpert says, adhering to building codes is the bare minimum – think about how you might design a space that works for everyone, not just “the average customer.”
Employing the principles of human-centered design not only results in beautiful, usable juice bar spaces but can also lead to more customer engagement. As you start designing, answer this question – how can you engage all of your community with the design of your juice bar?
The answer will all depend on you, your community, and your vision of your dream juice bar!
How to Create a Blueprint and Floor Plan
This guide will give you an idea of how to start the design process to create a world-class, accessible guest experience.
Floor Plan Design Best Practices:
Design accessible spaces with your customers in mind. Consider both your guests’ and employees' needs as well as local building codes.
Include ample space for your guests while they wait in line.
Create an intuitive flow of service so that customers aren’t confused by how your juice bar functions.
Factor in where your employees will be working. This includes identifying where POS systems will exist to efficiently conduct transactions and communicate with the kitchen.
Consider how the floor plan works with the design theme and ambiance of your juice bar.
Juice Bar Floor Plan
Put your employees first when planning your design. Think about how you can design the layout strategically so that it’s an efficient workspace.
When a workspace is too cramped, everyone suffers. Design accessible countertops, sinks, and workstations so that anyone can use them.
Kitchen Floor Plan
Many juice bars operate small, cafe-style kitchens. Be economical about your kitchen space so that you can house storage for fresh fruits and greens, alongside the equipment needed to produce sandwiches and salads.
Staff Area Floor Plan
Staff areas (such as offices and break rooms) create space for administrative tasks, and for your staff to relax on breaks. An area for staff will also help to keep the shop organized, and provide space for you to post schedules and announcements.
Entrance Floor Plan
Create an entrance that’s welcoming and memorable, to give guests a great first impression. Prioritize a path to the ordering queue and leave ample space for people to navigate. Place the ordering counter near the entrance or use clever architectural elements to guide customers through the experience.
Another thing to consider is the local juice bar culture and the location of your shop. Maybe your juice bar has a service counter that opens to the sidewalk so you can economize the interior space. Make creative design decisions that work best for your business.
Order Queue Floor Plan
Design an order queue that showcases your menu and optimizes the space in your juice bar. Create lots of room for guests to wait and mingle while your employees serve other guests. Estimate how much space to use for an ordering queue by the average traffic you can expect in your location.
Cashier and POS Station Floor Plan
The POS and order queue go hand in hand. Your POS station is the center of your juice bar, keeping track of inventory, sales, employee hours, and more. Place it in a strategic, central location where your employees and guests will come together to conduct transactions.
RESOURCE Restaurant Floor Plan Templates
Use these restaurant floor plan templates to get inspired as you map, or reimagine, the layout and space setup for your restaurant.
Juice Bar Seating Floor Plan
It’s important to provide seating for guests who want or need it, even in the tightest spaces.
How Much Guest Space Should A Juice Bar Have?
To understand your floor plans, consider the industry standard for space. According to Total Food Service, it’s a 60/40 model – 60% of the space is used for guests and seating, and 40% is used for prep, the coffee bar, and the kitchen.
Another critical step is calculating the maximum occupancy of your space depending on local building codes. These will vary by the type and location of the building, but we suggest the following capacity per guest in these types of restaurants (local COVID guidelines may further restrict these calculations:)
Full-Service Restaurant Dining: 12-15 square feet
Counter Service: 18-20 square feet
Fast Food: 11-14 square feet
Let’s consider a juice bar a fast food business. In a 1,200 square foot juice bar, you might reserve 720 square feet for guests, but half of that will be an order queue, leaving 360 square feet for seating. If you give each guest 12 feet of space, you could have space for 30 guests.
Offering guests more space is usually a good idea. Spacing tables further apart and creating wide lanes for traffic is a great way to make your juice bar accessible to people with disabilities. Plus, a study by Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration found that guests are more generous with their spending if they have more personal space.
Outdoor Seating Floor Plan
If you have the luxury of outdoor space, maximize it. A nice patio can attract a different niche of customers to your juice bar, and drive additional sales and profits. Plan your outdoor space carefully so that it’s easily accessible to both guests and employees. Make the space an asset to your business, not a burden.
Restrooms Floor Plan
Believe it or not, restrooms are a deciding factor in many people’s choice of shops and restaurants, according to a survey by Zogby International. Designing restrooms that are big enough for all guests and easy to find from dining areas will create an attractive edge to your shop. Avoid requiring guests to move through staff areas to reach the restroom.
Emergency Exits Floor Plan
Like all public buildings, juice bars must have a fire and emergency floor plan. Design software can help you adequately map out emergency exit routes. Once your floor plan is completed, be sure to communicate the routes to your staff and clearly mark external exits for customers.
Executing Your Juice Bar’s Floor Plan
Once you craft your juice bar’s detailed blueprints and floor plans, it's time to start turning your plans into a reality. Plumbers, architects, electricians, designers, artists, and your staff can all assist you in building the shop of your dreams.
Consulting an interior designer can help you to achieve the specific ambiance and experience you want. They can guide you through painting, decorating, and purchasing furniture that’s functional for your space and suits your shop’s aesthetic.
Installing light fixtures in a commercial space should be done by an electrician to be sure it’s up to code – the same goes for plumbing and any structural changes you want to make. Trade professionals can ensure your shop is up to code and safe for operation.
It’ll also be important to work with city, county, and state officials for all the proper permits. If possible, maintain good working relationships with the employees in the permit office – they’ll be sure that your blueprints and any changes get approved on time.
This all may seem like a lot of work to do. But your dream juice bar is worth it. So, don’t forget to have fun and be creative! Designing and executing the plans you carefully made for your shop is exciting – pour all of your passion into the design process and your customers will appreciate it.
Related Juice Bar Resources
RESOURCE Restaurant Floor Plan Templates
Use these restaurant floor plan templates to get inspired as you map, or reimagine, the layout and space setup for your restaurant.
Is this article helpful?
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided for general informational purposes only, and publication does not constitute an endorsement. Toast does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information, text, graphics, links, or other items contained within this content. Toast does not guarantee you will achieve any specific results if you follow any advice herein. It may be advisable for you to consult with a professional such as a lawyer, accountant, or business advisor for advice specific to your situation.
