From Moynihan Train Station to a burger joint in Terminal 1 of Hong Kong International Airport, our Split Flap restaurant wall signs and interactive menus help brands share stories across the globe. Inspired by the vintage departure boards of classic transit hubs, our modern menu boards are a key element in intentional restaurant design. Starting at $15k, our Split Flap displays are durable, long-lasting restaurant signage that can energize, differentiate, and excite a food-and-beverage space.
Sizing & Installation Styles
For the food and beverage industry, our Classic Black finish is a popular choice for restaurant wall signs and menus, which start at about $15k and scale up based on size and customizations. From that point, pricing will be based on the number of rows and columns required, as well as any colors. We also offer Modern White and Custom Color displays for higher budgets. Our standard font is also ADA-compliant, so your employees and patrons can easily read messages from 100 feet away.
3 Rows x 32 Columns
6 Rows x 32 Columns
10 Rows x 40 Columns
Recessed Installations
Surface-Mounted Installations
Hanging Wall Installations
How Split Flap Displays Are Used in Food and Beverage
Food and beverage clients use our Split Flap displays as interactive restaurant wall signs and menu boards, creating focal points within interior design. The movement and subtle sound of our displays help tell kinetic stories while also serving a functional purpose, including highlighting key menu items, showing reservations, rotating through seasonal or limited-time specials and drinks, announcing events, creating shout-outs to customers, and more.
Here are a few examples of how restaurants can use Split Flap displays to express a venue’s unique character and message.
Simple Wayfaring Through Restaurants and Bars
Split-flap restaurant wall signs and interactive menus make an exceptional focal point in busy spaces with high foot traffic and fleeting attention. Their flap speed can be increased to create a more pronounced, audible click, instantly drawing patrons’ eyes when the board changes. What does a Split Flap sound like?
Schedule and Send Menu Changes
A Split Flap display transforms a restaurant wall sign or menu from static art or messaging into an immersive and intentional design feature. The rhythmic movement and nostalgic sound, paired with clean modern lines, integrate seamlessly into your restaurant brand’s atmosphere. By automating menu changes, such as shifting to happy hour pricing or unveiling a new appetizer, keep the restaurant environment fresh and engaging.
Promote Restaurant Events and Specials
When paired with a thoughtfully designed front-of-house, a Split Flap display can be a central community tool within a restaurant, announcing upcoming live music, open-mic nights, or other special events. During events, it can replace screens to maintain an industrial or mid-century aesthetic, offering announcements, trivia prompts, or curated messages without breaking the ambiance.
Create Instagrammable Moments for Restaurant Social Media
The visual and audible presence of a Split Flap invites guests to pause, notice, and share. Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or special parties with curated messages that encourage organic social media engagement. The display itself becomes a photo-worthy feature of your space. We often see our food and beverage clients, such as The Irish Exit and Nolita Hall, sharing photos on Instagram with our Split Flap display in the background!
Greet Group Reservations and VIP Guests
Make every reservation memorable by greeting groups or individuals with custom Split Flap display greetings. This small yet personalized design element creates an immersive restaurant or bar space where patrons feel like part of the story you’re telling. (We’ve even been a part of customer engagement stories!) With additional interaction enabled through software integrations with reservation apps, restaurant brands can automate this feature.
Seamless Restaurant Branding with Enterprise Custom Color
For enterprise food & beverage clients, consider a fully Pantone-matched Split Flap to really enhance the look of a restaurant wall sign or interactive menu. Previous displays have featured a soft pink for Pod, a vibrant red for KitKat, and a stunning cobalt blue split-flap menu for Julith Coffee in Dubai. Pricing for full-custom color displays starts at $60k.
BAR & RESTAURANT USE CASES
In practice, using a Split-Flap display within a bar or restaurant looks like easy day-to-day engagement that previous restaurant, bar, and brewery clients such as Artisan Beer & Cheese and 12 Bones Brewing have raved about. For restaurant brands like Buck & Rider, split-flap restaurant wall signs and interactive menus became a part of their signature experience, and now appear at multiple Arizona locations. For cafes and bakeries like Crust & Crumb, a custom split-flap with custom-colored flaps is key to a personality-driven cafe design. Here’s a look at how several of our bar and restaurant clients have used a split-flap display in their space.
Two 4 Row x 40 Column Displays in Classic Black
The Irish Exit project installed two custom Split Flap restaurant wall signs at Moynihan Train Hall, programmed to show real-time MTA and LIRR train departures and arrivals.
Learn how the display seamlessly blends functional transit information with immersive, travel-inspired design, creating a focal point that enhances the pub’s atmosphere without compromising its identity as an authentic Irish bar. Watch the video case study.
4 Row x 32 Column Displays in Classic Black
The Momofuku Noodle Bar Split Flap is a custom restaurant wall menu at the restaurant’s Columbus Circle location in New York City. Serving as a modern, nostalgic focal point, the sign rotates menu items, prices, and branded imagery in real time.
Read how this installation helps the restaurant stand out in New York’s competitive dining scene by blending innovative design with practical, dynamic communication.
6 Row x 40 Column Displays in Classic Black
The Buck & Rider project features a custom six-row split flap restaurant wall menu that showcases daily seafood specials, signature beef offerings, and personalized guest messages in their stylish, industrial-inspired Arizona restaurants.
See how this installation not only streamlines menu communication and enhances the dining atmosphere, but also creates memorable, shareable experiences that foster customer loyalty.
Using Split Flap Displays in Food & Beverage
How to Update the Split Flap Display
Split Flap messages are managed via Oat Foundry’s free Portal content management system, a cloud-based web application accessible from any device with a browser (such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone). With this, you can send or schedule messages to your restaurant wall sign or interactive menu. Users are welcome to leverage the free restaurant templates available or create their own custom content. To maintain brand consistency, many restaurant clients pre-load their Split Flap with their own pre-approved messages.
Technical & IT Integration
All content management is done online, and no installation or local server setup is needed. Split Flap is ready to use out of the box, ideal for fast-paced restaurants that want to get their custom display up and running. Portal is complementary for Oat Foundry customers, and there aren’t (and never will be) any kind of subscription fees to unlock premium features. Currently, restaurants use integrations with sports scores, weather, local transit, and reservation apps to enhance functionality and engagement on their Split Flap displays.
Learn more about our software integrations here.
Five Year Warranty
Our Split Flap display comes with a limited five-year warranty, reflecting our confidence in the durability of our product (our in-house split-flap currently hit 50 million rotations, which is equal to 200-300 years of simulated use). Before any of our products ship, our production team rigorously tests the displays. We then offer a complimentary video preview and require approval before your display is sent. The team also provides ongoing support for any challenges that restauranteurs may face as you get used to your Split Flap.
How Split Flaps Are Made & Shipped
Each Split Flap display is handcrafted specifically for your restaurant by Oat Foundry’s team of engineers. From sheet metal and PCB design to powering the flaps, we design and manufacture your custom-branded Split Flap at our Philadelphia shop. This allows us to offer a wide variety of sizes and customizations while maintaining the highest levels of quality control.
We ship across the US and internationally, including to Australia, Seoul, and Hong Kong.
Get Started with Oat Foundry
Ready to get started on a custom restaurant wall sign or interactive menu for your food and beverage space? Click the button below and fill out the form! We’ll be in touch shortly.
Not ready yet? Learn how restaurants and bars all over the world choose Split Flap displays to center their brand stories.
Similar Industries & Installations
Cafe & Coffee Chains
See how Nespresso and Oat Foundry teamed up to create custom-branded entry signage for the retail cafe flagship in the Flatiron district of Manhattan.
Wineries
An enterprise metallic gold split-flap display brings an elegant, luxurious touch to Erosion in Napa Valley, CA.
International
Learn how Oat Foundry worked with Strudel House in Budapest on an interactive menu with both English and Hungarian characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it easy to make updates to the Split Flap display?
Yes! Your restaurant manager or supervisor on-site can easily send or schedule through our Portal, a cloud-based app. Your team can use templates available within our library or create their own custom content. To maintain consistency with your restaurant branding and messaging, add selected users from your team and manage permissions for sharing and scheduling pre-approved messages.
Do you offer a warranty on your restaurant signs?
Our Split Flap display comes with a limited five-year warranty, reflecting our confidence in the quality of our product. Our team also provides support for any challenges that may arise while getting acclimated to your Split Flap.
How much power do the Split Flap displays use?
Our Split Flap displays are energy-efficient and use less energy than a screen. Designed to be sustainable, a Split Flap display is a great way to break up the screens in your space while saving on energy.
How do restaurants use Split Flap displays as interactive menus?
Restaurant brands and owners are using Split Flap displays as interactive menus because they’re programmable, physical systems that are part specials board, part story. In addition to rotating through restaurant events, Split Flap displays can feature seasonal dishes and drinks, welcome large groups, announce order numbers, participate in engagements, and so much more. A lot of our clients, such as Nolita Hall and The Irish Exit, also use their split-flap display menu as a signature focal point across their social media channels.
What’s the value of a branded Split Flap display used as a restaurant wall sign?
With the ability to send messages in real-time or schedule ahead (similar to Google Calendar functionality), restaurant brands can send custom, personalized messages to restaurant patrons. Depending on the brand voice, restaurants have used our split-flap displays as restaurant wall signs that align with vintage-inspired, mid-century, or industrial interiors. Restaurants can update the display as frequently or infrequently as desired, with fun, funny, or interesting facts or motivational quotes.
Can Oat Foundry’s Split Flap display integrate with different apps?
Our Split Flap displays offer API connectivity options that make it possible to integrate with local transit data, upcoming reservations, select menu apps, sports scores, weather, and custom-built integrations. For more information, please book a demo with our sales team!