When a legacy brand like Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken decides to modernize, it’s not just about a facelift—it’s about a strategic reinvention that protects brand heritage while unlocking future growth. That’s exactly what Lee’s achieved by leaning into the Refresh, Refurb, Remodel (RRR) framework—an approach that helped the brand align capital investment with restaurant brand experience, identity, customer engagement, and operational performance.
The Challenge: Modernize Without Losing the Soul
Lee’s tasked the team with a complete redefinition of its restaurant identity design—from brand architecture to drive-thru and digital touchpoints. The goal? Create a space where families could gather around heartwarming meals while building a scalable model for future growth.
But modernizing a brand built on familiarity and comfort isn’t as simple as starting fresh. For Lee’s, the risk wasn’t just falling behind—it was losing what made the brand special in the first place.
Rethinking the Experience from the Ground Up
The solution wasn’t a single design change or one-time remodel. It was a holistic, tiered transformation built on the RRR methodology:
- Refresh: Stabilize and update tired touchpoints
- Refurb: Reconfigure layouts and elevate the brand experience
- Remodel: Reinvent the full experience to signal a bold new direction
For Lee’s, the strategy focused primarily on a Remodel approach—but done with the discipline of scalability. The project included:
- A new brand identity anchored by Helen, a warm, inviting chicken mascot who represents both approachability and energy.
- A reimagined prototype store design that balanced modern amenities with nostalgic charm.
- Strategic integration of hospitality cues—natural light, wood floors, curated lighting—to create a sense of welcome and comfort.
Elevating the Restaurant Brand Experience
Lee’s new store design is more than visual—it’s experiential. Every touchpoint was redesigned to reflect a thoughtful restaurant brand experience for modern customer expectations:
- Drive-thru: Fully reconfigured for speed, clarity, and convenience.
- Dining room: Open, spacious seating to accommodate families and community gatherings.
- Exterior and patio: Designed to be inviting from the curb, increasing visibility and dwell time.
The refreshed use of Lee’s iconic red and yellow color palette ensured the store felt familiar while signaling progress. Smart layout updates and lighting changes elevated the space without compromising operational flow.
A Modular Kit-of-Parts: Built for Franchising and Scale
Critically, the design wasn’t just beautiful—it was modular. Recognizing the dual structure of corporate and franchise ownership, the new concept was engineered as a scalable kit-of-parts. This allowed for:
- Consistency across locations
- Cost-effective deployment
- Flexibility to adapt to site-specific needs
In short, it’s a remodel that can scale—avoiding the all-too-common trap of flagship-only innovation.
RRR Meets Portfolio Strategy
From Chute Gerdeman’s perspective, Lee’s transformation is a textbook brand transformation case study of aligning RRR investment tiers with real estate, design, and operational strategy:
- Refreshes can be rolled out across legacy locations to bring older stores in line with the new brand standard—without heavy capital investment.
- Refurbs offer mid-tier enhancements where layouts and lighting can be optimized to match the new experience without starting from scratch.
- Remodels, like the flagship prototype, become the anchor for a new era—an experience blueprint for future growth.
Each level is driven by performance data, market dynamics, and customer expectations—not by arbitrary cycles or uniformity.
Why It Works: Brand Relevance with Operational Rigor
What sets the Lee’s remodel apart is how it integrates design and operational scalability. This wasn’t about aesthetics—it was about solving for:
- Brand recognition with new audiences
- Consistency across franchise and corporate models
- Operational efficiency and throughput
With every update—from signage to service flow—Lee’s has built a platform not just for today’s customer, but for tomorrow’s expansion.
Key Takeaways
- Remodels should be rooted in strategy, not style. Lee’s invested where it mattered, focusing on high-impact design and layout changes that enhance both the guest and franchisee experience.
- A modular approach creates flexibility. The scalable prototype ensures brand consistency while allowing local adaptation—critical for franchised systems.
- The brand voice matters. Helen, the new mascot, adds personality and approachability, creating a sense of identity across platforms.
- Design and real estate must work hand in hand. This is where ASG and Chute Gerdeman deliver maximum value—ensuring that every design decision ladders up to long-term profitability and portfolio health.
Explore the full case study to dive deeper into Lee’s brand identity and store design refresh.
