WASHINGTON — When commercial real estate firm chose its new D.C. headquarters at 2020 K St. N.W. last year, it wanted the 72,000-square-foot space to be a more efficient workplace for employees that created a sense of unity and teamwork, and an internal cafe was part of the plan.
Also, JLL employees wanted to pay tribute to their favorite watering hole, , at their new office space, and named the new in-office cafe “The Mack.” It even includes a vinyl reproduction of the Mackey’s Public House facade when it was located at 19th and L, created by local artist Maggie O’Neill.
JLL is not alone in rethinking kitchens and common office spaces.
The office kitchen in the D.C.-area is increasingly not just a Mr. Coffee and vending machine, and amenity-rich work places are no longer confined to just high-paying tech companies and law firms.
What do employees want?
Surveys, like a recent one say office amenities provide employers plenty of bang-for-the-buck when it comes to keeping employees engaged and productive.
At Capital One Financial鈥檚 sprawling Tysons Corner campus, common spaces look more like restaurants and living rooms than kitchens and conference rooms.
Another survey by Capital One of 2,500 full-time professionals in D.C., Chicago, Dallas, New York City and San Francisco found that the top-ranked on-site benefit employees want is access to healthy food and beverage options.
So it is not just the kitchen, cafe or cafeteria. It’s the food.
鈥淓mployees want their employers to create an office kitchen that has a salad bar filled with options — artichokes, brussels sprouts and steak, versus just lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers,鈥� said JLL鈥檚 Mid-Atlantic Market Director Chris Molivadas.
鈥淥rganizations are creating a vibe of a cafe, but instead of doing that in retail, you are doing it in your own space, which provides collisions and interactions, and people-watching in the office. It gives you a different experience. People (here) are foodies. They pay attention to the quality of the food,” Molivadas said.
If a company is providing meals to employees, someone needs to provide the meals to company, and that is a business that is growing for D.C.-area caterers.
Alexandria, Virginia–based operates on-site cafes under the name 鈥淪easons鈥� as staff restaurants at office buildings.
鈥淭he word ‘cafeteria’ evokes an atmosphere where customers pick up a tray and are ushered through a buffet line to make meal and beverage selections, but today’s customer is food-savvy and enjoys cutting-edge environments where extraordinary food and coffee offer a hip, local approach that together inspires conversation and connection,鈥� said Seasons鈥� Mary Kate Spainhour.
鈥淚n-office food service has the benefit of being convenient, affordable and reliable, and contribute to employee recruitment and retention,鈥� Spainhour said.
Free pizza is always an office hit, but employers now find that, when given a choice, employees prefer healthier options. Those providing catered food service stress organic, farm-to-table and locally sourced. As Seasons puts it, employees prefer the notion of a 鈥渟taff restaurant鈥� to just a kitchen or cafe.
Picture , instead of a Quizno鈥檚 sub or Quarter Pounder with cheese.
Office kitchen trends also run the gamut, from open kitchens with all the bells and whistles and designs of restaurants, to micro-kitchens, micro-markets, pop-up restaurants and food carts. And office kitchens can double as client event spaces.
Higher-end office kitchens — and other 鈥渟ocial鈥� common spaces — mean added expense, but landlords are taking on the costs, though buildings that carry 鈥渟pecialty spaces鈥� are reflected in the cost per square foot. Class B buildings are competing with trophy-class office buildings by renovating lobbies, adding fitness centers and rooftop spaces to reflect the new social trends and creating what interior design firm Hickok Cole calls a 鈥渕embership feel鈥� to their buildings.
Adding in-office cafes and social spaces also does not always equate to higher costs because companies are decreasing individual-assigned spaces per employee, reducing square footage while gaining social spaces for the entire staff.
What else is important in the workplace
JLL says companies are employing more low light and windows into their kitchen spaces, and creating a mix of seating options, such as low tables, high tables, soft seating and the industrial look is very in right now.
But noise is out.
鈥淎t some restaurants, you鈥檒l find they use hard surfaces to sound vibrant and louder, filled with lots of energy, but in an office space you want to show activity but not with noise. You want to control noise so people are involved in an active environment but they can work and hear each other,鈥� JLL鈥檚 Chris Molivadas said.
And when it comes to location of office space, the penthouse is not always tops. Traditionally, the higher the floor, the higher the rent, but upper floors are not necessarily the most desirable for office space anymore.
鈥淲e have a saying: 鈥楬igher is not always better,'” said Hickok Cole鈥檚 Jessica Maples. “That means many tenants are choosing ground level to third floor spaces over the highest floors because of the connection to the pedestrian level, trees and city energy that comes with these floors.鈥�
Employers are finding that their workers care about how “green” the office space is. “Green” can refer to the march toward LEED certified, eco-friendly building infrastructure, but it also refers to plants. And the sad, lone, wilted fern next to the sink is no longer nearly enough.
The office greenery trend even has a name: 鈥淏iophilia.鈥�
鈥淐onnection to outdoor spaces and integration of greenery within cafes is a trend that many organizations are integrating in today鈥檚 workplace,鈥� said Maples.
“Science and the study of individual wellbeing support the use of Biophilia in the workplace as a means to recharge and connect to nature. A positive mental shift occurs when we have this connection to nature,鈥� Maples said.
The millennial effect
Seasons says millennials are driving the move toward more amenity-rich kitchens, and food and coffee are highly-valued perks.
There is now demand from younger office workers for technology as well, with payment-by-phone options, menu apps, online ordering, loyalty programs and after-hours, self-service markets.
And millennials like their coffee, whether traditional, cold-brewed, nitro, or superior coffees with a local connection. The office coffee bar amenity has become a new conversation and collaboration space.
At JLL鈥檚 The Mack, the goal was in fact a coffee-centric cafe complemented by great food choices, and that prototype at its Mid-Atlantic headquarters now serves as the model for what it is incorporating for tenants at other JLL properties.
草莓传媒’s ‘草莓传媒 Bites’ cafe
The 草莓传媒 staff itself will soon experience a 鈥渟ocial cafe鈥� when the station relocates to its new Chevy Chase, Maryland, location.
Architectural design firm worked with 草莓传媒 management to design what will be called 鈥淭he 草莓传媒 Bites Cafe,鈥� (a name chosen from employee suggestions.)
鈥淎fter being in a building for 30 years where we were on four floors, we wanted to have a very appealing common area so people could organically get to know each other,” said 草莓传媒 General Manager Joel Oxley. 鈥淚t will also be a great first impression for our guests, whether they are news makers or clients. When you enter our offices you鈥檒l know you鈥檝e stepped into a first rate news operation.鈥�
Gensler鈥檚 Sumita Arora said gathering and collaboration potential helped with the design of the new space.
鈥淧laces like the central caf茅 encourage social connections that enrich the workplace experience and support job satisfaction,鈥� Arora said.
