It took a leap of faith to envision a restaurant in this delapidated storefront which once housed a hat-making facility. Green Zebra, a vegetarian restaurant, was my second collaboration with Chef Shawn McClain and is named after an heirloom tomato variety.
To break the narrow rectangular space, I positioned the host stand, service bar and center set of banquettes at a 45 degree angle. This configuration added visual interest and allowed for a flexible table arrangement. Instead of a partition separating the entrance and the dining area, I designed a visual barrier made of three triangular tiled planters. The biggest challenge in designing the dining room was making the most of every square inch available, so that all the necessary elements found their proper places.