Bartavelle

The owners of Bartavelle contacted us mid-pandemic. They had down-sized their cafe and part-time wine bar (Bar Sardine) into a to-go window, in what had been their prep space. Now they were looking for a place they could expand, serving their coffee, food, and natural wines inside again. Somewhere warm and welcoming. Two doors down from their cafe they found a great opportunity and took over a retail space that had never been a cafe/restaurant. It required a big investment in the utilities needed to make it function as a cafe, but the location was perfect.

We designed a cafe and bar that we hope is an inviting space reminiscent of old California, a little darker and warmer than its local contemporaries. We exposed the ceiling framing and tucked sound dampening material in between the joists. The drywall was stripped from the old wood structure and the steel earthquake moment frame, leaving their original installed marks and finishes as intact as possible. Where we could we used new materials that age gracefully, developing patinas that start to create a new history. The long table-height zinc bar is the prime spot to drink a cortado in the morning or a gamay in the evening. We used alder throughout the space for its warmth and quiet grain structure, which contrasts nicely with the original brick wall and the new green tiled kitchen wall.

The curved zinc bar was formed by Paco Prieto & Christopher Fisher of Pacassa Studios. The tile on the bar and kitchen walls are cement tiles from clé. Ryan & Sons fabricated custom stainless steel counter supports and shelving behind the bar and in the kitchen. Joe Rice developed the audio system. Eco Logical Builders was the general contractor for the build out. Manual Labor fabricated all the solid wood pieces throughout the space with the exception of the oak chairs, which were fabricated by a CCA Furniture class, lead by Katherine Lam. All the photos above with people in them, and the side image of the wine shelving, are used with permission from Laura Kiernan. All others are by Manual Labor.