D&D is already a booming brand, with restaurants all over the world renowned for superior food along with a strong and recognizable restaurant logo design. Its London counterpart, the appropriately named D&D London, has been a favourite since it opened. The brand is constantly expanding, with restaurants opening in new countries and markets almost every month. However, the restaurant is getting ready to take a branding leap from food to sleep. The restaurant recently announced that is opening a luxury hotel at South Place off Moorgate in London.

The building is still in the design process, but a few things are expected of it. First, many are expecting a London boutique, luxury experience congruent with the brand of their thirty well known restaurants. So far, the brand intends to deliver, with Allies and Morrison designing the building’s exterior and Conran and Partners doing the interior design. Second, the public will of course expect to find a variety of superb food on the site. This brand promise will likely be fulfilled by the several restaurants and bars on the site, including a restaurant and bar on the seventh floor with an outdoor terrace with a view. The range of food will be wide, but carefully tailored to compliment the brand.

Frogmore, the company managing the property, feels hopeful about the success of the hotel. The many professionals working on the site have a unified sense of branding. So far, the owners have had great success in branding their other businesses, keeping an overall brand while allowing the different sites to personalize in non-key areas.

What will the branding of the hotel be like? The restaurant logo design holds few clues. Its sophisticated black and white colour palette is attractive but too stark for a boutique hotel. The lettering is modern and sleek, which definitely offers clues into the design. Will the decorations of the 72,000 square foot establishment be sumptuous and sensual, like the food, or streamlined like the logo design? We won’t know until more of the designs are released. However, Brits and people all over the world will be watching and waiting for a chance to experience the luxury that these well known restaurateurs aim to provide. You’ll have to wait a while; work on the hotel starts in a few months and is not slated to be finished for at least two years.

How will this venture affect the overall corporate brand? It likely will not have a negative effect. First, the restaurant and hotels have often been linked into one ‘hospitality’ industry. Second, even very different ventures can make a single brand if branding and logo design consultants are involved in the process. Although a poorly run hotel would certainly pull the D&D brand down, the owners seem willing to hire specialists where needed and to let the experts rule the day. With so many restaurants under the owners’ belt, it’s easy to see this hotel becoming the hottest thing in London and in the UK in general.