Heritage Storytelling + 50th Anniversary Experience
Chris Madrid's
1977 / 20271900 Blanco Road, San Antonio, Texas
Fifty years isn't a timeline. It's an era.
This is not a memorabilia project.
The history is already here: signs, shirts, menus, photographs, tile, handwriting, the buildings, and thousands of people who know exactly where they used to sit. What it needs is hierarchy. Some of it should be loud. Some should stay quiet. Some should be left exactly where a regular already knows to find it.
The goal is not to make Chris Madrid's feel more designed. The goal is to make it feel more understood.
THE PLACE
50 YEARS OF SAN ANTONIO LIFE.
One umbrella that holds the food, the buildings, the family, the staff, the fire, the rebuild, and everyone who has walked in since 1977. It gives the interior a spine and gives every artifact a reason to be where it is.
- Archival photography
- Menus + price changes
- Shirts
- Fire + rebuild
- Tile + surfaces
- Signage
- Family photos
- Handwriting
- Regulars
- Staff portraits
- I
The Beginning
Tacos and burgers on Blanco Road.
1977 - II
When The Burger Won
The name got shorter. The line got longer.
- III
The Place Grows
Alpine Ice House, Jimmy's Bar, one restaurant.
1982 - IV
Everybody's Table
Staff, regulars, teams, neighbors, side by side.
- V
Chris
The person behind the name, and the tone of the room.
2012 - VI
The Next Family
Entrusted to the Peacocks.
2017 - VII
The Burgers Never Left
Fire, food truck, a city in a parking lot.
- VIII
Back On Blanco
Rebuilt without rebuilding the personality.
2019 - IX
50 Years
Who walks in next.
2027
Working chapters. Discovery confirms what is real and where the story breaks.
ARCHIVE ALREADY DOCUMENTED
We have already started the archive.
- 2017 fire + rebuild documentation
- Food truck + temporary dining era
- Restored tile tables
- Autographed T-shirts + memorabilia returned after the fire
- Awards, photos, long tables/benches + Christmas lights documented in rebuild notes
DISCOVERY OPENS THE FAMILY ARCHIVE
The next layer will come from the people who lived it.
- Original or earliest menu
- Chris's handwriting + signature
- Early shirt graphics
- Family photographs
- Staff and regular snapshots
- Fire / food truck era personal photos
- Awards, clippings and one-off memorabilia
The things that matter most may be the things no one has scanned yet.
One integrated package. Three workstreams.
One integrated package encompassing historical discovery, narrative strategy, spatial storytelling, environmental brand direction, and development of the 50th anniversary creative platform.
Discovery, Research + Archive
Before we design the storytelling, we understand the story.
- On site immersion at Blanco
- Review of memorabilia you already hold
- Newspaper, photo and city archives
- Interviews: Madrid family, Peacocks, staff, regulars
Historical sourcebook, story and asset inventory
Story + Spatial Framework
The building and the narrative get designed at the same table.
- Story hierarchy and room assignments
- Hero moments and supporting content
- Environmental graphics direction
- Artifact, framing and display strategy
Heritage Storytelling Master Plan
50th Anniversary Platform
The 50th should be bigger than a 50 logo.
- Anniversary positioning and language
- Identity and visual direction
- Environmental moments
- Merch, menu and event opportunities
Anniversary platform and content framework
What Chris Madrid's receives.
At the conclusion of the package, Chris Madrid's will receive:
- 01Heritage Storytelling Master Plan
- 02Historical Story + Timeline Framework
- 03Archive + Memorabilia Inventory / Content Map
- 04Story Chapter + Narrative Hierarchy
- 05Room-by-Room Spatial Storytelling Recommendations
- 06Artifact, Framing + Display Strategy
- 07Environmental Graphics + Heritage Installation Concepts
- 0850th Anniversary Creative Platform
- 09Anniversary Messaging + Visual Direction
- 10Merchandise, Menu, Packaging + Activation Concept Recommendations
- 1150 Years / 50 Stories Content Framework
- 12Final Creative Presentation / Digital Reference Deck
The final package is intended to serve as the creative roadmap for subsequent design development, fabrication, production, and anniversary activation.
WELL DONE, SAN ANTONIO.
A nod to the grill, the milestone, and the city that made Chris Madrid's what it is. The full campaign system is part of Phase 1C.
50 YEARS / 50 STORIES
One example of what lives under the platform: fifty short stories, gathered from staff, regulars, family and the city.
Heritage Storytelling + 50th Anniversary Package
New Total Creative Fee
$6,450
One integrated package encompassing historical discovery, narrative strategy, spatial storytelling, environmental brand direction, and development of the 50th anniversary creative platform.
Payment Schedule
- 50%$3,225On approval / project commencement
- 40%$2,580At presentation of primary creative direction
- 10%$645Upon delivery of final package
Two rounds of reasonable revisions are included.
Separate from this package
The following can be developed and scoped once the creative direction and quantity of implementation elements are established:
- Final production-ready artwork
- Fabrication + installation
- Custom display fabrication
- Framing
- Printing + scanning
- Professional photography
- Image licensing
- Website design or development
- Event production
- Media buying or public relations
- Ongoing campaign content production
Lead Interior + Spatial Design
Creative direction, spatial storytelling, interior integration, memorabilia and display strategy, materials, environmental concepts, and implementation planning. ABNDZ Studio leads the project and ensures the history becomes part of the physical experience of Chris Madrid's.
Story Strategy + Environmental Brand
Historical research, narrative architecture, written storytelling, environmental brand thinking, and development of the 50th anniversary platform.
Together, ABNDZ Studio + HILMY bring the physical place and the story behind it into one creative system.
Fifty years is a long time to sell burgers. It is an even longer time to become part of people's lives. Chris Madrid's has done both.
The history is already there.
Our job is to make sure people feel it.
in association with