PNY has become France’s trendiest hamburger chain since the opening of its first Parisian address in rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis a decade ago. This was possible thanks to the quality of its offer and the eye-chatching design of its restaurants, which reimagine the concept of the American diner through a creative retrofuture concept. Behind this project is Rudy Guénaire and his agency Night Flight.
Trained as a mathematician, with a master’s degree in management from the HEC in Paris, Guénaire came to design recently. “It all started during a 5,000 km trek in the mountains of the United States,” Guénaire recalls, “I got pretty hungry and diners quickly became my shelters. It was there that I discovered what a decent hamburger means. When I got back to France, I wanted to bring back some of this American magic, and make the French people realize we had all been doing it wrong this whole time.”
“With the lack of cuisine knowledge but motivated with the spark of doing well, I embarked on a mission: I collected the money from everyone in my family and partnered up with entrepreneur and friend Graffi Rathamohan. We bought a creepy kebab and turned it into Paris’ hottest burger spot. That’s how it all started.”
Unlike other chains, each location is custom-designed drawing inspiration from a different aspect of American culture, and from the cinematic universe of directors such as Wes Anderson, David Lynch and Wong Kar Wai. The main idea remains the same, but not the story. The PNY Presqu’île in Lyon tells the story of Hollywood, its glitz and glamour and how it is all just an illusion, and to do so it chooses a 1970s/80s aesthetic, recognisable in Ettore Sottsass‘s iconic Ultrafragola mirrors.
The PNY Chartrons in Bordeaux, on the other hand, is like a mid-century spaceship that would have crashed in the Palm Spring desert, but without claiming any victims. While the PNY Grenette in Grenoble is an ode to the golden age of aviation, and the PNY Grand’Rue in Strasbourg evokes a mid-century atmosphere.
“Design is important because it helps telling a story that prepare the mind to enjoy the food more,” explains Rudy Guénaire. “When we started PNY we wanted to offer people a place that was very special. A place were the sun always shine. A place where the staff always smile and where the food is always served with perfect fries. To offer a break from the terrible modern life we all live in we needed to create a space that is very special. That’s why, From the beginning, design has been at the center of our thinking.”
To open his first restaurants, Guénaire worked closely with architects and designers. It was this process that brought him closer to interior design, so much so that he became the official architect of PNY. Now he designs everything: not only the tables and chairs, but also the napkin rings, wall sconces and even the speakers!
