Please join the Instructables Restaurant.

I will open an open-source restaurant that is completely made of, and only serves food based on the original instructables all the members on instructables.com have made or will make.

I mean, every chair, dishwasher, menucard, light etc. and all the food, will together be the restaurant. And I would like to ask you guys for your brilliant, funny, original ideas concerning all aspects restauranty. Inside the restaurant everything will be presented with the original instruction and accreditation to the maker. I have been involved in several pilot and concept restaurants in the past like Food Facility, a restaurant based on take-out restaurants by Catalonian designer Marti Guixe, and The Micro-Green Restaurant by Debra Solomon of culiblog.org. Both at Mediamatic in Amsterdam, where I was at the time working as an exhibition maker. I would appreciate it so much if you'd get involved in this and share your ideas with me to make it into an incredible creative place for adventurous diners, and maybe the first open source restaurant ever created (but i'm not sure about that and I guess it doesn't really matter anyway). In some restaurants you can buy the stuff you see, in this restaurant you'll go home knowing how to re-create what you just enjoyed, be it the food or the chair you sat on.

If you like it, please join the group about this: http://www.instructables.com/group/instructables-restaurant/

Instructable restaurant.png
75 comments
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Aug 22, 2008. 3:23 PMSpl1nt3rC3ll says:
Awesome idea! I'd love to see this place built!

One of the desserts could be LED Jigglies in a dark, LED themed room. Or you could have a dog washing station out back to attract the local pet owners, along with some of the doggy treats on this site. You could also serve Roy Rogers and Shirley Temples.
Oct 21, 2008. 8:45 PMSpl1nt3rC3ll says:
A Time Fountain would be a great piece for the LED theme.
Aug 22, 2008. 3:34 PMwhatsisface says:
Or you could serve SPAM

<snicker>
Aug 26, 2008. 6:59 PMtechnick29 says:
Sounds delicious! Keep us updated on your progress, and best of luck.
Aug 24, 2008. 7:45 PMshammallamaman says:
Just did
Aug 22, 2008. 7:35 AMwhatsisface says:
Probably best to put in a link to the group as well for people to join:

http://www.instructables.com/group/instructables-restaurant/
Aug 22, 2008. 2:33 PMKiteman says:
I've joined.
Aug 23, 2008. 7:34 AMKiteman says:
It's people who are interested in your idea, so are probably the first people who will allow you to use pre-existing projects, or even create projects especially for you. You can add projects to the group (even if they are already in other groups), and use that as your "library" or "recipe book" - it will make it easier to point people to your source material in future.
Aug 22, 2008. 4:30 AMKiteman says:
I know nothing about the restaurant trade, but this sounds like a great idea!

Do you have a location yet, or is this still at the idea stage?

Kiteman brainstorms...

  • Pictures of Robot everywhere. If you have a Kids menu, the back is the template to make Smart's Paper Robot.
  • Copies of The Book for sale at the door.
  • Screwdrivers with the handles removed could be cool chopsticks
  • There's a "creative quarter" in Amsterdam? Put your cafe there.
  • Have a Making space - make the floor above or below the restaurant a workshop with several small workbenches with sets of tools so that people can make things from the site, whilst eating cake and drinking coffee that they put on an invisible bookshelf above the bench.
  • Dress waiting staff like this
  • Have making evenings (talk to Star about Miters evenings)
  • Have a Swap Night once a month - people can bring in things they have made, and either swap with each other, or barter with you for food and drink. Bartered items would then go on sale in the restaurant, displayed on shelves around the room (like other restaurants sell paintings).
Aug 22, 2008. 5:20 PM=SMART= says:
Cool ideas!! thanks for the mention :P
Aug 22, 2008. 5:18 PM=SMART= says:
Here is the robot outline and a picture of the final product
SNC11469.JPG
Aug 22, 2008. 5:11 PMcaitlinsdad says:
I thought Kiteman would have chose my robohoodie but preferred the mad-scientist look. I guess that would be in souvenir section with the other t-shirts like "I ate with GorillazMiko".

Definitely have graph-paper paper tablecloths and napkins and crayon/pencils/IKEA tape measures for people to scribble their ideas while waiting for their meal and to keep kids occupied.

Just click on my username to see my Instructables Robot themed projects. Have a robognome-greeter at the door or to page people when their table is ready. Good luck. Sounds like a fun idea.
Aug 23, 2008. 5:47 PMGoodhart says:
how do you guys come up with this stuff

I have been looking at the new science of convergence here of late and to be honest, the "collective mind" is greater then the individual parts it seems: individually we are great idea makers, but put us together and we really shine :-) Synergy.
Aug 25, 2008. 4:06 AMGoodhart says:
I haven't come across any (BTW: I mistakenly said convergence and I meant Emergence), but there is a set of a few radio broadcasts done by WNYC RadioLab that help with it a lot. You will need a few hours time to listen to the podcasts though. Still, I found them Fascinating :-)

Link to th WNYC RadioLab Podcasts on Emergence...
Aug 25, 2008. 4:51 AMGoodhart says:
I checked it out, and yes, there is a book called EMERGENCE:
Aug 25, 2008. 9:19 AMKiteman says:
...Emergence...

That would be a good name for the restaurant, or maybe Gestalt (which roughly means "a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts").
Aug 25, 2008. 3:57 PMGoodhart says:
Hmm, or maybe E-mergence ? :-)
Aug 25, 2008. 4:19 PMKiteman says:
Oh, no, now that I think about it, it's a little too close to Emergency...
Aug 25, 2008. 4:24 PMGoodhart says:
I had considered that too...but as a trade name, it could be "misspelled" anyways ....something like: E-merg-eats (or is that too corny ?)
Aug 26, 2008. 3:30 AMKiteman says:
Well, nobody said it had to be a vegetarian restaurant...

(Although, in the UK, it is easier to meet food handling regulations if you are a purely vegetarian establishment)
Aug 26, 2008. 3:32 AMKiteman says:
Hey! If you're not going to call it Instructables (for the reasons Eric gave), pinch a part of the site - call it Zeitgeist (unless that is too close to the Dutch for "maggot ridden residue"?)

Since the project will be an emergent function of a group process, I think that fits quite well.

Aug 26, 2008. 11:21 AMcaitlinsdad says:
Nicegeist finish first... before Goodhart gets to it, you'll understand later :)
Aug 26, 2008. 6:53 PMGoodhart says:
its not true that only nice guys finish last ;-) Hmm, we could refer to the Restaurant as the Mis’adah :-)
Aug 23, 2008. 6:21 PMcaitlinsdad says:
Do you have to cross your eyes when you look at the new science of convergence?

  • have mini-terminals at each table to chat with other tables. Video-cams for those into that thing.
  • have a stand-up comic/pun master do their act in the entertainment corner...
Aug 23, 2008. 6:34 PMcaitlinsdad says:
  • Have tele-dining. If a person can't make it to your table, they can video-conference in and join the table. But still charge the person for sharing...
Aug 23, 2008. 6:36 PMGoodhart says:
Sorry, not convergence but rather Emergence.....
Aug 23, 2008. 3:53 PMcaitlinsdad says:
There are a lot of graphic artists out there that could probably do a better job. Ideas are free for the asking.
Aug 23, 2008. 7:36 AMKiteman says:
Love the graph-paper idea.

Possibly Dremels for (ahem) carving the turkey at Christmas?
Aug 23, 2008. 8:44 AMcaitlinsdad says:
There is laser-cutter laser cut meat somewhere...
Aug 23, 2008. 11:09 AMKiteman says:
Isn't that somebody's arm...?
Aug 23, 2008. 3:50 PMcaitlinsdad says:
That was self-inflicted but this one wanted to incur the wrath of the vegan-ninjas.
Aug 23, 2008. 3:56 PMKiteman says:
Those comments are funny even though they are missing!
Aug 22, 2008. 5:32 PMcaitlinsdad says:
If you have a Brazilian-Portuguese Churrascaria bbq-grill type eatery, you can use the robognome standing up to signal you are full and stand it on its head to attract attention of the waiter.
DSCF1239.JPGDSCF1153.JPGDSCF0984.JPG
Aug 25, 2008. 9:23 AMKiteman says:
I think that will be your job.

  • "How to clean a kitchen"
  • "How to plan a menu"
  • "How to wait on tables"
  • "How to cook for dozens"
  • "How to run a restaurant"
  • "How to get licenses for a restaurant"
etc.
Aug 22, 2008. 2:30 PMKiteman says:
The paper robot is already done (link) - just ask SMART if you can use it.

I've never done anything like the restaurant, or a swap evening, I was just brainstorming. Feel free to use the ideas, though.

Cutlery... we have a few projects on making knives, but not forks (I think I could whittle one, but that's not hygienic). It tends to be things made from cutlery. Maybe a spanner could be re-made into a spoon?

(If I ever get to Amsterdam, I'll be sure to drop in to see my wall...)
Aug 22, 2008. 7:33 AMwhatsisface says:
That other restaurant is fabulous! I love it. I think this is a really cool idea, I can imagine tennis ball chairs everywhere :D
Aug 22, 2008. 12:14 PMwhatsisface says:
Aug 22, 2008. 4:56 AMGoodhart says:
Dress waiting staff like this

LOL Don't ask me why, but I thought, for just a moment, you might have linked to another place. Thanks for renewing my respect for your taste ;-)

Aug 22, 2008. 7:12 AMGoodhart says:
no, Kiteman got my meaning LOL *sorry*
Aug 22, 2008. 5:32 AMKiteman says:
Well, it is Amsterdam. There is a dress code to uphold...
Aug 22, 2008. 7:13 AMGoodhart says:
Oh well, must be my mid-life crisis turning my brain to mush *sigh*
Aug 22, 2008. 2:03 PMewilhelm says:
Go for it! When it's open, I'll come and eat the Venison Asparagus. Seriously though, I think the Instructables name probably isn't a good choice because it won't intrinsically attract people local to the restaurant. However, everything else about your idea sounds great, and if you attribute the logo and robot properly, you're free to use them. I would definitely call it "The World's First Open-Source Restaurant" -- who could dispute you!?
Aug 22, 2008. 4:01 AMgmjhowe says:
Is this serious? sound like a major risk to me! But then it would also be exceedingly cool. the main problem i can see, if how far apart the members are. Also, i think you need to talk to the people who own instructables first. Get them to sort it properly, not to mention any copyright issues.
Aug 22, 2008. 6:31 AMzachninme says:
Wow, this is amazing!

The default license for an instructable is Creative Commons' Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (also known as "cc by-nc-sa")
Since this would be commercial, you'll need to ask people's permission to either change the license, or just license it to you in a different way.
I'd highly suggest using cc by-sa. I think it enforces the whole sharing thing.

I think it would be really awesome if you released some restaurant how-to's under a permissive license. :-)

I'm really looking forward to seeing this turn out. It sounds like a really cool idea.
Aug 22, 2008. 12:29 PMzachninme says:
The comment to which I replied previously is marked as "(removed by community request)". Although I do not remember the comment exactly, I can't recall anything that arne hendricks said that would be not nice/inappropriate.

I know its normally bad to ask this, but may someone please enlighten me to why his comment was removed?
Aug 22, 2008. 2:09 PMwhatsisface says:
I've noticed that a lot, many comments keep getting removed that don't have anything offensive in them, for seemingly no reason. It's not even like the user is deleting them, because that would be (Removed by poster). Glitch maybe?
Aug 22, 2008. 4:35 AMKiteman says:
Many ibles are posted with a very free licence - if you're not recreating them to sell, you don't actually need their permission. It would be polite to ask, though.

You'll need to ask Eric about using the Robot image or the Instructables name, but I can't imagine it would be a major problem, especially if things you made had a link to the original ible on them (say a tag hanging off a chair, a small plate embedded in a table-top, and posters on the wall about the cutlery), or you start a group here and include all the related ibles into it, and then display a sign, "all recipes, as well as how we made the furniture, can be found at (say) http://www.instructables.com/group/Arnes_Place/*

The worst he can do is say "no" to Robot being visible, but the use of particular ibles is entirely down to the authors.

*(yes, I know the link doesn't work properly)

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