The Little Tuna

Seafood Restaurant

Background

Marcus Severs, chef and owner of The Little Tuna, saw his reputation begin to skyrocket in the area, and he realized his brand was not strong enough to survive the ride with him. With this in mind, Severs approached [whitepenny] because, in his words, he wanted to "re-imagine his restaurant."

Approach

After an examination of The Little Tuna brand, it was evident that while some of the elements had merit, the overall brand strategy was not clear and did not project the wonderful, eclectic experience that Severs' restaurant had to offer. Severs, a unique personality in his own right, needed a brand strategy that could match his zest for food, the dining experience, and life in general. In addition to helping The Little Tuna further define and deliver this personality through the entire dining experience (from the servers to the interior of the restaurant), the visual language of the restaurant's identity was also redeveloped so as to better speak to this new brand promise. The new logo and menus, with their electric greens and warm chocolate brown undertones, portrayed both sophistication and uniqueness. In addition, a secondary brand element — four clocks showing different times — was born out of Severs' offering to "come spend time at the Tuna." And people have. In the time since his re-brand, Severs has seen his most profitable years in The Little Tuna's existence and has transformed his restaurant from small local treasure to one of the areas few destination restaurants.