Cafe/Bakery in Brooklyn, NY

Nikolas Stanovic with Streets and Avenues called us one summer afternoon to ask if we can help on his friend’s project. It was the Simple Loaf caffe/bakery business, and his friend Shari, the founder. 

We began our design by visiting the site. The space is at the ground floor of a building from 1921, in Slope Park in Brooklyn, with the access to the backyard. Jazz music played when Shari opened a door of her bakery, and there was an authentic brick wall on one side of the serving/entry area. 

I suggested to keep the brick wall exposed as an artifact to times behind us. Shari lived in Paris for years, her plates where she displays pastry are silverware.

Our design was self-forming as we engaged with a dialogue. Design decisions were made gradually. Lenka, our principal architect did not have a specific pre-determined idea of what the outcome shall be, which is rather unusual. Perhaps, as the existing conditions were rather strong in terms of materiality and location, design molded around given historical background. Today, this is a hectic urban retail-based street with a lot of small shops and restaurants. 

Formed followed function, Shari and I had long talked on how her bar station works, how many people, how many shelves, and how much clear width she needs. 

It is a thin line between contemporary design that is stark and cold and one that is clean but “human”. We like the latter. For this project, the floor wraps up on the wall behind the bar station, which is reminiscent of old local bars having a 3-foot clad on the back wall. It comes from need to protect surfaces that are exposed to impact in service work environments.

A big question was which material the bar shall be. Bar is long and an accent in space. We decided on 4x4 tile, gloss and a bit off white by Ann Sacks. Tile pattern is a subtle counterpart to brick wall. We were hesitant to propose a monolith flat surface that could feel to robust against the brick wall. 

We worked with Deltalight to provide photometric study and help us select lighting fixtures. There is an array of recessed downlight, an array of wall washers and an array of pendants all above the bar, providing lighting for different surfaces. Single mini recessed lighting fixtures are at the entry area for accent, and one in front of the restroom. Brick wall was left alone, no lighting accent. 

The shelves behind the bar lean on the concept ideas Lenka had when she designed her furniture collection. They are solid aluminum powder coated in white. The attachment details are our little secret. 

As for any project, details are incredibly important. The images tell more than words. We did design each detail transition very carefully. We are inclined to frameless flush doors, we decided to go with EZ Doors this time. 

The small team on this project was well coordinated, and it was pleasure to work with both Shari and Nikolas. We still can hear Shari saying: “I do not want to kill the vibe.” while approving our design suggestions. She did trust us so much.