Uniform Ideas for New Restaurant Opening
As a restaurant manager, you’ll have many opportunities to impress guests and critics, but few will match your grand opening. A strong opening can attract customers, define your brand, and establish your place in the market.
One key element is your staff and how well their uniforms reflect your overall visual identity.
Need help outfitting your team in uniforms that enhance your food and atmosphere? Here are restaurant staff uniform ideas, from upscale formal wear to more relaxed, contemporary looks.
1. Jazz-Inspired
From Instagram, @stockmfgco
The Jeff Ruby brand is known for its elevated dining experience where every detail, from the steaks and service to the music and atmosphere, is designed with intention.
For this new Cincinnati space, the concept leaned into Jazz Age decadence. We built a uniform program to match that energy: white tuxedo jackets with black satin lapels, double-breasted shawl-collar vests, and velvet bowties.
2. French & Midwestern Blend
From Instagram, @stockmfgco
In May 2025, The Alston opened in Chicago’s Gold Coast. From day one, Michelin-starred Chef Jenner Tomaska set the tone with a refined take on French technique, grounded in seasonal Midwestern ingredients.
For a level of culinary execution like this, the uniform needed to match: old-school glamour with a touch of members’ club ease. That idea became the foundation of the Alston uniform program.
The uniforms include velvet blazers, functional vests with multiple pockets, stretch tech trousers, silk bow ties, and Coolmax dress shirts, finished with gold lapel pins.
While the details are rich, the uniforms never overpower the space.
The restaurant itself is designed with layered glamour in mind - oversized chandeliers, dramatic drapery, brass accents, and velvet throughout so the staff feel like a natural extension of the room.
3. Elevated with Key Detail
From Instagram, @stockmfgco
We were excited to be part of the launch of Gibson Italia when it opened in Chicago’s West Loop in 2017.
The cream-toned shawl-collar server jackets immediately elevate the look, but the detail that really defines the uniform is the tie bar. It’s a small touch, but it does a lot of heavy lifting in the overall presentation.
Finished in brass with a polished metallic sheen, the tie bar features a subtle engraving of the Gibson logo and gold etching of the restaurant name for understated branding.
4. Modern Luxury
From Instagram, @stockmfgco
The opening of the St. Regis Chicago and its restaurants remained one of the city’s most anticipated new developments.
We were honored to consult on the uniforms for its flagship restaurant, Tre Dita, a concept rooted in a refined take on the classic Tuscan steakhouse.
To complement the restaurant’s layered, artisanal interior, we dressed the service team in dark green wool-blend blazers paired with dress shirts and black trousers. For the bar team, we introduced a sharper contrast: modern black tops and white tuxedo jackets.
5. Traditional Tailoring
From Instagram, @rpmitalian
Back in 2014, when Stock was still an emerging fashion brand, Lettuce Entertain You brought us in to develop staff uniforms for the launch of RPM Steak.
One of the standout looks featured a grey wool double-breasted waistcoat, layered over a white dress shirt, black trousers, and a black tie. The design resonated so strongly that it became part of our in-stock collection and was later adopted by RPM Italian as well.
6. Neutral Tones
From Instagram, @stockmfgo
In 2021, we were fully immersed in developing a range of workwear pieces for The Clayton Members Club & Hotel.
The opening was a major milestone for Aparium, marking its entry into the Denver market and establishing a destination designed to bring together a diverse member community, from creatives to business leaders.
The interiors leaned into a refined, mineral-inspired palette, gold tones, stone textures, brushed brass, and subtle metallic accents throughout.
With a space this visually rich, the goal was to ensure the uniforms complemented rather than competed with the design.
Our team responded with a restrained palette of greys and blacks. On the first floor, for example, the Of a Kind restaurant staff were outfitted in our Stretch Grey Service Chambray shirts.
7. Nautical Inspired
The Lure Fishbar Chicago uniform project began in 2020, well before it was clear when restaurants would reopen. Despite the delays brought on by the pandemic, we still delivered a refined program suited to a seafood concept of this caliber.
The look featured a double-breasted vest with a charcoal satin back, a wide striped blue tie, and a bib/waist apron. Navy tones, bold striping, and subtle maroon accents tied into a nautical-inspired palette.
While designed specifically for Lure, the foundation is flexible enough to translate to other high-end restaurant openings with only a shift in color direction.
8. Refined Embroidery
Back in 2015, the Chicago Athletic Association was in the midst of a full renovation ahead of its reopening and needed new uniform designs to match the space.
After walking through the building and meeting with the team behind the restoration, we got a clear sense of the direction. It quickly became obvious what the uniforms needed to do: feel at home in a “secret society” inspired environment while still performing in a real service setting.
High-end materials, refined embroidery, and gold trim were central to bringing the concept to life, used consistently across all three front-of-house roles.
By opening day, managers, servers, and bartenders were fully outfitted in a cohesive uniform program designed for Cherry Circle Room.
9. Subtle Accesorizing
From Instagram, @stockmfgco
Even when outfitting front-of-house staff in standard in-stock workwear, a few subtle additions can go a long way in refining the look for opening day.
At Michael Jordan’s Steak House, for example, branded tie bars and aprons helped elevate otherwise classic pieces into a more distinctive, on-brand uniform program.
10. Laid-Back and Retro
From Instagram, @rosy
With its live-fire cooking, retro-inspired aesthetic, prime location, and walk-in-focused service, Rosy was one of Cleveland’s most anticipated openings.
When the doors finally opened, guests saw the full team outfitted in warm, rustic workwear. Olive chore coats and bib aprons anchored the look and set the tone for the room from day one.
11. Woodland-Inspired Tones
We’ve outfitted staff across many Chicago steakhouses over the years, but GT Prime remains one of the more distinctive uniform projects we’ve taken on.
The brief called for an “enchanted forest / woodland fairy” influence, balanced with a modern, wearable edge. The direction ultimately leaned into a timeless sense of earthiness with subtle contemporary tailoring.
Waxed cotton and tweed became the foundation of the program, bringing texture, depth, and a grounded feel to the overall uniform story.
To tie back to the woodland theme in even the small details, we opted for two custom enamel lapel pins: one with a fox and the other with a rabbit.
12. Heritage Inspired
From Instagram, @_tfl_
To celebrate the Michelin-starred restaurant’s 20th anniversary, event staff managing the vegetable station wore special iterations of the traditional uniform. They were outfitted in straw hats and denim overalls layered over crisp, clean-lined chef whites.
Overall, they were a perfect fit for the farmhouse vibe going on at the venue.
13. Branded Attire
From Instagram, @wairobakery
The team at WA-IRO initially planned a soft opening with minimal social media presence, giving themselves time to settle in and adjust at their own pace. However, the response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive.
Just two weeks in, the team gathered for a group photo in full work attire.
WA-IRO is built around the ideas of harmony, peace, and a connection to nature through color. The branded aprons and warm, earthy tones used throughout the bakery space help bring that concept to life in a subtle, cohesive way.
14. Simple & Comfortable
From Instagram, @sanhowon
San Ho Won is a San Francisco restaurant that blends Korean tradition with live-fire BBQ, set within an industrial-chic space defined by a largely neutral palette.
For the uniform program, the top priority was comfort and functionality across all body types, followed by a close focus on fit, movement, and a subtle injection of color to complement the interior.
The result was a combination of navy blue coats for the front-of-house team, part lab coat, part butcher coat in feel, paired with simple green aprons over white tees for the kitchen.
15. Artistic Designs
From Instagram, @firmeatelier
Kodo is an omakase-focused indoor-outdoor restaurant and hotel in the Arts District, set inside a repurposed fire station. The space blends contrasting design elements, sharp angles and soft curves, modern and timeless details, slate and warm wood into a cohesive whole.
Given that setting, the staff uniforms needed to feel just as considered. In 2024, the restaurant introduced a new uniform “experiment” in collaboration with bespoke fashion house Firmé Atelier. Firmé gave the sushi chefs and bartenders a kimono with Tasuki-like tying functionality and an impressive silhouette. Servers received a button-up with star snaps.
16. Traditional Attire
From Instagram, @nanasgreentea_official.global
Nana’s Green Tea is a worldwide chain that specializes in modern Japanese food, Japanese desserts, and green tea.
As the chain celebrated the opening of its 83rd branch (and the second in Hong Kong), event staffers were seen in traditional attire, reflecting the cafe’s authenticity.
17. Vibrant and Bright
From Instagram, @wearececi
Ceci, a contemporary Lebanese fast-casual concept, is built around fresh, healthy food and a playful, modern energy.
From the glazed façade to the vibrant orange uniforms, every detail feels intentional and full of life. The staff’s warm, welcoming presence ties it all together, reinforcing the restaurant’s promise of bright, refreshing Levantine cuisine from the moment guests walk in.
New Restaurant Opening Uniform Ideas
Whether you’re opening for the first time, reopening after a renovation, or marking a milestone, the stakes are high.
The right workwear keeps your team comfortable, supports them through service, and reflects the vision of your space while ensuring they look the part doing it.
At Stock, we’ve helped bring a wide range of restaurant uniform programs to life, tailored to different concepts, roles, and operational needs.
If you’re looking to build a uniform program that stands out on opening day and performs long after, get in touch with our team or schedule a visit to our Chicago showroom.