Lucky Loon Kitchen

Lucky Loon Kitchen is a restaurant opening in 2024 at Valleyfair in Shakopee, Minnesota. I was thrilled to work on this project because we had a lot of freedom when creating the story. On our team, we typically use stories in lieu of a traditional Creative Brief. These stories serve many purposes, such as providing time and place, informing our design decisions, and explaining the presence of certain items, like food or attractions. For Lucky Loon Kitchen, I wrote two stories and then worked with team leadership to choose one that felt right for this project.

We wanted something that would explain the existing architecture and feel specific to the area, so I explored different ideas that brought in the neighboring parks and forests. Still, the concept of the state bird of Minnesota, the Common Loon, stuck out in my mind, so adding a loon character felt like a good direction. After narrowing down our story, we came up with name and logo ideas and, using an existing color palette, started imagining what this restaurant could look like.

I created the graphics to make it feel like a classic roadside restaurant, and I included an illustration of Lucky, the common loon from the story.

I'm incredibly proud of how this project turned out. You can read the full story of the Lucky Loon Kitchen below. Thank you to my team at Cedar Fair and the park team at Valleyfair for all their help!

The Lucky Loon Kitchen

Sitting along the Minnesota river, The Lucky Loon Kitchen is a quaint restaurant with anything but quaint flavor. Just ask their number one customer, Lucky the Loon, who can often be seen patiently waiting outside at his specially-made ducky door.

Starting as a riverside supply shop to service kayakers, hikers, and frequent park-goers, the supply shop grew in popularity with the addition of Miss Anne. Her famous cookies and mac-and-cheese quickly became a favorite in Shakopee. Still, her rescue pet loon, Lucky, is what got the people interested. As the popularity of Miss Anne's food grew, the supply store changed to a full-time restaurant. It expanded the menu to include roast eye of round, grilled chicken thighs, and pasta, but of course, kept the mac-and-cheese that made it famous.

The origin story of Miss Anne and Lucky has been retold more times than there are lakes in Minnesota, but it still makes customers smile. Years ago, Miss Anne was closing up late at night when she saw a tiny creature in the shadows. Turns out it was a little loonlet outside the door, shivering and seemingly alone. Never to turn away something or someone in need, Miss Anne brought him inside and nursed him to health. Since then, they have been two peas in a pod, and Lucky has been hanging out at the restaurant, eating her famous mac and cheese, and living the good life.

When guests enter The Lucky Loon Kitchen, they see Lucky's footprints outside next to his special entrance. The sign above his miniature door reads, "VILs Only," with a loon silhouette. Inside, framed photos show Miss Anne and Lucky traveling the world, with images of Lucky in Paris and Egypt. On the other side of the restaurant is a bulletin board with information on the nearby wildlife rescue, newspaper articles, and a tacked-up t-shirt that says, "I spotted Lucky the Loon!