The quintessential Australian back shed has inspired the fifth incarnation of souvlaki restaurant, Jimmy Grants by George Calombaris.

Located at Eastland Shopping Centre, Ringwood, the restaurant is the latest Jimmy Grants fitout to be designed by local studio, Technē Architecture, following the footsteps of its stores in Fitzroy and Emporium.

Eastland is host to the first Jimmy Grants ‘Deluxe’ store, being larger than its sibling restaurants and featuring an extended menu and table service.

The menu at Jimmy Grants concentrates on a fast yet modern version of the traditional Greek souva along with the popular garlic-oil fries served with feta and Greek doughnuts baked made in-house.

The design of each Jimmy Grants location represents a different part of the fictional character’s migration story.

For Eastland, the brief was to design a space that references a back shed but with a modern twist.

To give the space a shed-like structural feel, Technē has incorporated wooden trusses across the ceilings, which can be seen from the street through the higher-level glazing.

Fibreglass embedded polycarbonate lines sections of walls and roof, creating a contemporary contrast and feel.

At night, when the space is illuminated from within, light is diffused through the polycarbonate making the space glow with warmth.

To maintain continuity between the various Jimmy Grants locations, each store features varying shades of blue throughout the interiors.

At Eastland, the traditional blue tones are boldly contrasted with a shade of orange on the bar stools and tables.

“We placed subtle, rustic furnishes throughout the space to evoke the feeling of a back shed, including suitcases, trays of bottles, tools, watering cans and an old accordion” says Technē director Nick Travers.

“Every chapter of Jimmy’s story has a certain panache, so it was important that we collaborated with the client to tell the story, while still making the space stylish, and comfortable and inspired.”

The result is an environment that replicates the feeling of Melbourne’s inner city among Ringwood’s new open-air hospitality precinct, ‘Town Square’, in the newly redeveloped Eastland Shopping Centre.

The collaborative design approach undertaken by Technē is central to the studio’s work.