Coffee houses—at least in San
Diego—fall into two design genres. There
are the funky places like La Jolla’s Pannikin; South Park’s Rebecca’s and
Claire De Lune in North Park, where you can bask in the ‘60s along with the
aroma of good coffee. The other style is
the sophisticated Euro-influenced design of coffee houses like Influx and
Holsom in North Park.
Both styles
are thriving in San Diego.
But does
design make for a fabulous cup of coffee?
Is it the magician or the wand? Coffee house design generally reflects
the vision of the owner(s). Design is
also influenced by the location.
One case in
point:
Recently a
trio of coffee roasters, who since 2009 operated out of a non-descript
warehouse in the Mission Gorge area of Northeast San Diego, wanted to add a
retail outlet to showcase WestBean’s growing reputation as up and coming coffee
roasters.
Co-owners
owners (left to right in photo): James Rauh, Andrew Karr and Paul Reizen sought a stylish look to the site
they chose in downtown San Diego.
For that
they picked Paul Basile, one of the hottest restaurant designers in the country
to design and fabricate a 700 s.f. coffee house at 240 Broadway in the Westgate
Hotel complex. Already, he is a
restaurant design legend in San Diego barely into his 40s.
Much of Basile’s
signature café/restaurant design mantra went into the new The WestBean
location. There he blended his metal working
forte with elegant wood into a sleek minimalist décor. Basile’s skill is in capturing stylish
adventure in the most simple terms.
Now open, Basile’s
The WestBean coffee emporium reminds me of modern Madrid and/or mid to lower
Eastside Manhattan. Stylish, yet one
feels at home.
More on Basile.
Paul Basile |
Sources:
The
WestBean: www.thewestbean.com
Basile
Studio: www.basilestudio.com
Basile Studio's signature usage of metal and wood in its award winning hospitality designs. |
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