Strutter's Chicken

This project was a full restaurant refresh for Strutter's Famous Chicken at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. It was a fast-paced project with a tight budget, and I designed, creative directed, and functioned as the project producer, handling everything from signage and branding to exterior and interior design, production, and even field art direction.

The restaurant is the park’s highest-volume location, and the goal was to improve the dining experience while supporting a switch to a crew-serve line for faster service. The interior and exterior were outdated, the colors felt heavy, and the building had drifted from Hometown Square’s turn-of-the-century theme over the years.

To help guide the design, I wrote a short story treatment based on a real local family from the 1800s. The story explained the building’s architecture, connected it to the surrounding structures, and gave context for why this fictional family sold chicken, rooting the design in the history and character of the land.

I worked closely with park leadership to incorporate their feedback throughout the process. My goal was to create a softer, more cohesive visual look that felt welcoming and approachable while still providing a place for sports-watching guests to hang out. I managed furniture selection, orders, and deliveries on tight turnarounds, coordinated production, and performed punch walks to ensure everything came together on time. This refresh was designed to be the first step toward a more unified visual language for the entire land.