Challenge
Celebrate culture, not just growth
For 25 years, JOEY Restaurants had built a name for elevated casual dining with smart interiors, a strong service model, and a bold West Coast brand.
But internally, what really set JOEY apart was its performance-driven coaching culture.
From servers to executive chefs, team members were mentored, not managed. There was structure, yes, but also care, drive, and a deep commitment to growth.
When the company came to Echo to mark its 25th anniversary, they didn’t want a standard corporate retrospective. They wanted a book that would:
- Celebrate the JOEY journey from hometown hero to world-beater
- Recognize the leaders who’d helped shape its values
- Honour the culture of coaching and excellence
- And give current and future team members something aspirational and unifying
This wouldn’t be a timeline. It would be a dynamic, beautiful culture book built for the people who live it.
Solution
A high-energy culture book
The book, The JOEY Story: 25 Years, was a creative collaboration from day one.
We worked closely with the JOEY team to collect photos, stories, and reflections that traced the arc of the company from a local upstart to a major hospitality player with locations across Canada and the U.S.
Editorially, we focused on voice and attitude. The tone was confident, personal, and unfiltered. This was a story best told by its people.
The design followed suit:
- Large-scale photography with edge-to-edge layouts
- Graphic treatments inspired by menu boards and kitchen notepads
- Custom quotes and highlight callouts that echoed coaching language
- Chapter breaks organized around themes like growth, hustle, mentorship, and grit
The opening of the Los Angeles location — JOEY’s first U.S. restaurant — featured prominently, positioned as a natural extension of the culture, not a departure from it.
This wasn’t about nostalgia. It was about momentum, and what happens when a coaching mindset scales.
Result
A culture piece with lasting power
When The JOEY Story: 25 Years launched, it did more than mark a milestone. It gave the team a shared narrative and a tangible source of pride.
Copies were distributed internally, used in onboarding, and even used to forge relationships with brokers in markets unfamiliar with the brand (as with real estate, restaurants live or die by location, location, location). It became a symbol of what JOEY had achieved — and where it could go next.
The book also travelled well. As U.S. expansion continued, The JOEY Story helped articulate the brand’s values to a new audience without needing translation.
Leadership saw the impact, too.
By telling the story through the lens of people and performance, they reinforced the very culture that had fuelled JOEY’s growth all along.
One more cool thing...
The book that hustles like they do
Design-wise, The JOEY Story was built to feel like JOEY: fast, stylish, no-nonsense.
The paper stock was textured, tactile, and substantial. The typography was bold and clean. And the images, especially the team candids, brought the energy of the kitchen to the page.
It felt like a book made for people who move.
It’s authentic and fun and so totally ‘us.’ I can’t wait to give copies to all our stores. It’s going to be a major cornerstone of our recruitment and training program as we expand across Canada and the US.
Britt Innes
VP of Marketing, JOEY Restaurant Group
Want to celebrate your company’s culture with style and impact?
If you liked this company story, you’ll love these. Learn how we help fast-moving brands capture what matters and share it with the people who make it possible.
- Company stories
- travel
- Rocky Mountaineer
- 25th anniversary commemorative book
- Company stories
- franchise restaurants
- Taco John's
- 50th anniversary commemorative book
- Company stories
- insurance
- California Casualty
- 100-year corporate anniversary book
- Company stories
- travel
- Rocky Mountaineer
- 25th anniversary commemorative book
- Company stories
- franchise restaurants
- Taco John's
- 50th anniversary commemorative book
- Company stories
- insurance
- California Casualty
- 100-year corporate anniversary book