Slims

Slims came with an established design concept originally created by Nik Rollison, drawing on the energy and familiarity of a classic American diner. For its Qantas Terminal 3 location, Airport Retail Group engaged TableFive, Greater Group’s specialist hospitality design division, to translate that concept into an airport environment while retaining the character that defines the brand.

The new format needed to respond to a faster customer journey, higher throughput and the operational requirements of a busy domestic terminal. The challenge was not to reinvent Slims, but to understand the elements fundamental to the original concept and adapt them for a very different hospitality setting.

Working from Nik Rollison’s original concept, TableFive developed and documented the airport format, retaining its strongest visual elements while resolving the layout and customer experience for the new tenancy. The open kitchen remains central to the experience, while blue tiling, red terrazzo, bold graphics and banquette seating carry the diner character through the space. Full-height graphics and illuminated perimeter details extend the identity towards passengers moving through the concourse.

Greater Group then carried the project into manufacture and build as part of the wider Airport Retail Group programme. This connected TableFive’s hospitality design and documentation with Greater Group’s delivery capability, allowing the concept to be adapted for the terminal and carried through to construction within one group.

The completed venue retains the energy of Nik Rollison’s original Slims concept while adapting it to the pace and operating requirements of Sydney Airport. The open kitchen brings food preparation into the customer experience, while strong colour, graphics and diner references give the venue an immediate presence within the concourse.

The project demonstrates how an established hospitality concept can be translated for a new format without being redesigned for the sake of it. TableFive developed the original concept for its airport setting, while Greater Group carried it through manufacture and build, delivering a high-throughput airport venue that retains the character and identity of Slims.