Alto - Restaurant Branding

I met with chef Jackson Mehlhopt to discuss his ethos, ideas, and vision for his own restaurant concept “Alto”.

Jackson has a very clear vision for what he wants a restaurant in his name to be. With focus on the environment - both externally and internally, hyper-seasonality, ultra-local produce, and making use of everything they can, Alto would be at the cutting edge of the restaurant scene in Aotearoa.

After further discussion, we were able to distill Jackson’s ethos into a simple two-word phrase:

“Being Hospitable”

To Jackson, this phrase encompasses everything. The way customers feel as they enter the building, the way the staff feel in their place of work, the respect given to the produce and food gathered and used in the restaurant, and relationship with the land and environment
around them.

“Being Hospitable” is far more than just the hospitality industry, it is a holistic approach to a business in its entirety.