002 → Junior’s Cheesecake
The World’s Most Fabulous Website
Junior’s is a New York City institution. Open in downtown Brooklyn since 1950, Junior’s went from an excellent neighborhood diner to a worldwide sensation when they began exporting New York’s best cheesecake around the globe.
We were tasked with bringing the restaurant’s genuine, old-school charm to their digital experience. The site posed a unique problem (don’t they all?)—half of their traffic is from customers looking up food menus as they visit Junior’s NYC locations (which number among the busiest restaurants in the country) while the other half of traffic is e-comm from folks ordering that famous cheesecake. Our goal was to make things easy for the menu-seekers while giving the e-comm tourists a little dose of the same magic we felt walking into Junior’s.
I spent hours at Junior’s Brooklyn, pondering the essence of the place and combing through their robust archive. When you have 96 years of family and restaurant ephemera like Junior’s, the resulting brand world is authentically textured and delightfully chaotic (so many fonts and catchphrases...) in a way that modern brands could only hope to be. Basically, working on this project rocked and I hope you see Junior’s charm in every corner of the site.
Digital Redesign + Refresh
Role: Copywriter, Archival Researcher
Junior’s Website
My Favorite Page :)
Home page
Framed photos from the Brooklyn restaurant walls (that I captured with my very own cell phone lol). Iconic stripes from cheesecake packaging. Real 70’s af wallpaper used as a textural background.
The “magic formula” for perfect cheesecake. I fought to keep “jiggle” in the body copy, and I won.
Our History page
A bit of meditative/gentle cheesecake box bouncing.
A full timeline, from 1929 to today, charting Junior’s creation and meteoric rise. This was my pet project, my baby, etc. etc. See it all here.
It’s a fun fact generator—ever heard of it?!?! There was so much stuff in Junior’s archives that didn’t fit in the formal restaurant timeline, but was too good to leave out. So, we created a “From the Archives” moment where folks can learn about fun hisorical and pop culture moments from Junior’s storied past.
All pages
Pared down application of very robust illustration system including pointing gal and happy-but-tuckered-out chef.
Mantra-esque quotations surrounded by Junior’s specialities. Pictured here—the free pickles, beets, and coleslaw you get when sitting down to eat at any non-breakfast meal at Junior’s.
Footer copy pulled from cheesecake packaging.