New branding by Tavern helps revive America's iconic Sizzler restaurants

Not to be confused with Sizzling Pubs in the UK, Sizzler is a US-based restaurant chain with locations mainly in California and some in the nearby states of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, and Oregon. Known for steak, seafood, and salad bar items, it was once a beloved West Coast institution. However, in September 2020, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the pandemic.

Now, though, it's being brought back to life with a brand-new visual and verbal identity in partnership with Tavern.

Tavern is a branding and design agency based in Brooklyn specialising in crafting modern heritage brands. They've helped reinvent Sizzler through a transformative rebrand that reignites its nostalgic heritage while embracing a contemporary aesthetic.

The challenge

"Over the years, Sizzler faced an identity crisis and lost its way," explains Mike Perry, founder and creative director of Tavern. "Today, even most folks couldn't tell you if it still exists. But what remained was its pop culture status and its sentimental, warm-and-fuzzy place in our collective memories."

Tavern set out to bring this California icon back and instil it with some of the brand's original magic. "For a brand with such a strong nostalgia factor, a sense of heritage was key to winning back the hearts of fans," explains Mike. "Plenty of Millennials share fond recollections of infinite salad bar trips and cheese toast. Now that they're parents themselves, they're looking to recreate those core childhood memories of eating out with friends and family."

Following this thinking, Tavern built a new identity system from a selection of heritage assets revived from the brand's archives and refreshed to suit contemporary tastes. By tapping into the restaurant's rich history in this way, the agency crafted a reimagined identity that blends timeless elements with modern design sensibilities.

Logo and typography

Tavern wisely recognised that they didn't need to tweak much regarding the logo. Instead, it was about repurposing an element that already had decades of equity.

Refreshing the visual identity meant reimagining how those assets could be used across the entire 360-brand experience in a way that enables endless creativity, injects variety into the brand, and inspires an array of creative executions.

Using the wordmark, they turned it into an actual cattle brand. They also repurposed the classic ZZs from the logo and the word "sizzle" itself (borrowed from a crispy, burnt 70's logo) as secondary assets that could dial up the playfulness and ownability of clever copy and menu item names.

A curling heritage typeface drawn from old in-store ephemera—a contemporary cut of Windsor, which was often used by Sizzler during the 1960s and 1970s—was paired with a more contemporary Block Berthold to add variety and punch up the identity.

Colours and characters

Tavern also stripped away the gradient and used a rich burnt maroon colour as the hero of the identity's palette, emphasising the concept that medium rare is still the "proper way" to order a New York Strip.

Elsewhere, a forgotten cow mascot from the 1950s was brought back to life and renamed Ribby Ribeye. Ribby now has an entourage of new Taste Buddies, including Rippy, the lobster tail; Toasty, the brand's beloved cheese toast avatar; and the Salad Bar-barian.

These characters were inspired by elements of 1950s Hanna-Barbera cartoons, mid-century Southern California, and items on the Sizzler menu.

Beyond the visuals

The rebrand went beyond a new look and feel, with the Tavern team reimagining Sizzler from the inside out. Behind the scenes, Tavern helped the company overhaul its brand strategy, tone of voice, sonic branding, product innovation, and naming strategy.

From the restaurant interiors and menu boards to staff uniforms, every detail has been thoughtfully redesigned and will be implemented as the remodelled restaurants roll out. This even includes how servers greet customers going forward.

"We wanted to create a brand that resonates with longtime fans and a new generation of diners," explains Mike. "By combining the best of Sizzler's heritage with a modern aesthetic, we've revitalised a brand that isn't just nostalgic, it's joyful and exciting, and casts the brand in a new, timeless light."