News

Work of Missoula artist adorns HuHot franchises around the country

Sit down at any HuHot Mongolian Grill http://www.huhot.com restaurant in the United States, and you’ve got a special guest: Laura Blaker’s dragon.

Savor your meal also with a contortionist. A juggler. A two-bodied beast.

Whatever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get a complimentary side dish of probing eyes – the eyes of a warrior, the eyes of a horse. Snake eyes, even. And always there is a dragon. In fact, if there’s one thing that’s consistent about Blaker’s creations, it’s the omnipresence of the big, fire-breathing brute.

"I put a dragon in every restaurant," said Blaker, a Missoula graphic artist and painter who also has worked on multiple sets for the Missoula Children’s Theatre.

In each of HuHot’s 11 franchise restaurants is an original, hand-painted mural filled with Blaker’s imagination. The restaurant chain opened its first store in Missoula in 1999 (then called Mongos Mongolian Grill) and will add five more franchises this summer alone, from Michigan to Iowa to Texas.

Part of the contract with franchisees is the inclusion of Blaker’s exquisite murals, which average about 600 square feet. HuHot didn’t want to discuss Blaker’s fee specifically, but it’s in the multiple thousands of dollars.

Not that the fee is a concern with entrepreneurs, said Molly Vap, HuHot’s director of franchise development. Blaker’s art is central to HuHot’s look and brand identity.

"It is such an essential part of the image," said Vap. "It’s like a McDonald’s and its arches. When you think of the franchise, it sticks with it. They know the dragon is in every HuHot."

By JAMIE KELLY
Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2005/04/17/news/mtregional/news08.txt

Posted in:

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.