Brand build / Finance / Restaurant365Terza Ristorante

A New Restaurant Built On More Than A Brand.

For Nova Restaurant Group’s third Rochester concept, the people now behind Tempo supported the opening from inside the business: Bruce served as CFO, Jared led the Restaurant365 build-out, and the creative team translated a concept into a cohesive identity across menus, signage, a style guide and the website.

The illuminated Terza Ristorante sign over the restaurant’s downtown Rochester entrance at night, strung lights across the foreground
Client
Terza Ristorante / Nova Restaurant Group
Restaurant context
New Italian restaurant / Single location / Downtown Rochester, Minnesota
Historical team roles
CFO leadership / Restaurant365 build-out / Brand identity and guest-facing design
Solutions
Financial leadership / Technology / Creative services
Platform
Restaurant365
Engagement
New restaurant opening
Primary outcome
Coordinated foundation for launch and beyond

The restaurant

Opening A Third Concept.

Terza opened in 2015 on the ground floor of H3 Plaza in downtown Rochester, bringing handcrafted Italian food, fresh pasta, an open kitchen and a full-service bar to Nova Restaurant Group’s growing local portfolio.

The name and the concept direction were already set. Terza means “third” in Italian, tying the group’s third Rochester restaurant to its Historic Third Street address.

Architecture and interior design were led by Shea. Kitchen design was led by Nova, Scott Foster and Premier Restaurant Equipment and Design. What follows is the financial, technology and identity work contributed by the team associated with Tempo today.

The Terza Ristorante blade sign against a clear sky, the lettering stacked down a black panel

What was happening

Several Systems Had To Be Ready At Once.

A new restaurant has to come together on several fronts at the same time. Terza needed a guest-facing identity that could carry an existing concept into the market. It also needed financial oversight, and a restaurant management platform ready to support the business behind the dining room.

The challenge was coordination. Menus, signs, digital touchpoints, accounting structure and operating data all had to serve the same opening — without blurring who owned the concept, the physical environment or the underlying systems.

What we built

Turning The Concept Into A Working Restaurant System.

  1. 01 / Financial leadership through development and opening

    Bruce served as Nova’s CFO through this period, providing financial leadership as the group developed and opened Terza. No financial performance figures appear on this page, because none have been verified for publication.

  2. 02 / Restaurant365 build-out

    Jared led the Restaurant365 build-out for the restaurant, establishing the platform foundation for accounting and restaurant operations. No savings, margin gains or adoption results are claimed without supporting records.

  3. 03 / A complete guest-facing brand system

    Working from the established Terza name and concept, Dan led the creative team that developed the visual identity and extended it across menus, signage, a style guide, advertising and the restaurant website — one system of typography, colour, graphic motifs and applications, physical and digital.

    The Terza Ristorante wordmark in three treatments: primary, reversed on charcoal, and a secondary T crest on terracotta

The system underneath

The Terza type specimen: two weights of Lulo set beside a script face, over the brand colour palette
Three Terza graphic patterns — rosette, dot and lattice — drawn in black on terracotta, run as a vertical band
Terza business cards on wood, the gold wordmark on dark brown over a white contact card

The room it was made for

  • The Terza dining room, tables set beneath a vaulted ceiling with a tall floral arrangement at the centre
  • The main room from the entrance, red banquettes down one wall and the bar beyond
  • A red tufted banquette under framed prints and pendant lights
  • Glass globe pendants over the bar, the wine wall behind
  • The open kitchen behind a brick counter, Terza signage above the pass
  • A long communal table running down the centre of the room
  • Booths and loose tables, the vaulted ceiling lit from the cove above
  • A set table with wine poured and dishes served

1 / 8

Dinner, espresso and wine menus for Terza Ristorante, sharing one typographic system

In the room, and on the sidewalk

A chalkboard A-frame on the sidewalk announcing Terza’s happy hour
Two Terza table tents in wooden stands, one for happy hour and one for a Mother’s Day buffet
A black Terza cappuccino cup with the gold wordmark, held on its saucer
The Terza Ristorante website shown on desktop, tablet and phone

How the pieces connected

Supported From Both Sides Of The Business.

  1. Established concept
  2. Identity system
  3. Menus, signage and website
  4. Guest recognition
  1. Opening plan
  2. CFO leadership
  3. Financial oversight
  1. Restaurant workflows
  2. Restaurant365 build-out
  3. Operating platform

These workstreams answered different needs, but they converged on the same point: a new restaurant preparing to open.

The connection is the practical value of understanding both the guest experience and the business infrastructure behind it.

Out in the world

A Terza “Love your food” poster in a city bus shelter
A Terza “Love your food” advertisement built around a pizza and a cocktail
A Terza Mother’s Day buffet advertisement set over roses

On the plate

A caprese of tomato, mozzarella and basil, dressed with balsamic
A bowl of Terza pasta with salmon, capers and herbs
Braised beef with green beans on a white plate

The kitchen and the bar

A tray of fresh ravioli dusted with flour, before service
The Terza bar, taps and bottles behind it and tan leather stools along the counter

What is next

An Established Brand That Still Serves The Restaurant.

More than a decade after opening, Terza remains in operation, and its original identity is still recognisable across the restaurant’s current digital presence.

The foundation laid through financial leadership, restaurant technology and creative execution positioned Terza for long-term growth — and continues to support the business today.

A chef in a Terza coat shaping pasta by hand, the wordmark embroidered on the chest

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