Enticing designers to leave the comfort of their Aeron chairs to shop in showrooms has never been more difficult. Design centers are finding new ways to sweeten the experience. 

Free lunch does exist—it’s available every day, in fact—at the Denver Design District. The meal, hosted daily by a different showroom, may not be what gets a designer in the door, but it has proven to be an effective way to encourage visitors to explore parts of the building they might not have discovered otherwise. As design centers fight for relevance in the digital age, half of the battle is figuring out how to address what their clientele needs—from curating a mix of showrooms whose products are in demand with local designers to offering programming that builds community or betters their businesses. 

The Amenities

Sometimes it’s as simple as carving out spaces for designers to eat, work and meet. Since Butterfield Café opened at the New York Design Center last summer, the restaurant has become a go-to destination for designers in the building. “It was an answer to designers who told us they needed a place for something delicious to eat, and a bright, light space to meet,” says Alix Lerman, the New York Design Center’s chief marketing officer.