Don’t Read While Hungry: Atomicdust Designs New Website for Sauce on the Side

Don’t Read While Hungry: Atomicdust Designs New Website for Sauce on the Side

When Sauce on the Side decided they needed a new website, they did a quick search on the web for local web design firms. There, their team saw a name they knew well – Atomicdust.

Yes, that’s right. They recognized us from our frequent lunch orders.

Sauce on the Side is a local calzone restaurant that’s taken St. Louis by storm since it debuted in 2012. When we met with their team, they told us they wanted to provide a better online experience – one that reflected the fresh quality of their food, and made it easier for guests to find details about their food and their locations. They also wanted to position the restaurant for even more growth as they explore franchising.

We were obviously familiar with their menu, but to get a better sense of the brand we decided we needed to visit each of their three area locations. (It’s a tough job, right?)

While each location has its own personality (appropriately matched to its neighborhood, be it the Grove, Clayton or Downtown), we did see several common elements. There are striking murals by local artist Phil Jarvis, chalkboard-style menus and bright, bold lettering – along with tasteful splatters around the menu boards that designate available sauce options. Yes, the sauces really are served on the side.

St. Louis based artist Phil Jarvis created chalkboard-style menus with bright, bold lettering.

We carried that bright, bold look and attitude from their restaurants over to the website – including the saucy splatters.

Everything on the site is designed to showcase the food – and to lead web visitors to the delicious decisions they’re here to make. The menus are easy to read, the location and delivery maps quick to access – and yes, the food looks great.

Everyone in the fast casual restaurant space talks about having fresh food, but here we prove it, capturing the the calzone-making process from start to finish.

Photographing calzones is no easy task – they aren’t always the most photogenic and it can be hard to differentiate one variety from another. It was a real challenge to make each calzone look as good as it tastes, but the original photos and videos shot by our photographer Taylor Dixson do just that.

Soon, Sauce on the Side will be rolling out their pitch to potential franchise owners, and we already have a page ready for them to share. This, of course, is a slightly more complex message, but the website’s design flexes nicely to accommodate the added details and calls to action.

As positive reviews pour in for Sauce on the Side (both the food and the new website), we’re sure they’ll continue to grow – and you’ll probably hear a lot more about them in the future.

Check out the new Sauce on the Side website – but we warn you, it’ll make you hungry.