The Advocate

A New Neighborhood Eatery in a Historic Garage read more...

Our second project with the owners of Comal, The Advocate’s site was the former “Wright’s Garage” in the Elmwood neighborhood of Berkeley. As with Comal, the design embraces the original building’s exposed framing, steel, and concrete, but layers textural layers of end-block wood flooring, custom color glazed brick and walnut millwork. Custom Steel Banquettes were by Kyle Richter of Ferrous Studios. Orange upholstered mid-century dining chairs from Ebay add a jolt of color to the warm porcini gray room. Vintage 12″ nails forgd into wall art by artist John Bisbee create texture at the back bar wall, while enlarged historic berkeley postcard artwork are actually fabric acoustic panels. Custom color Fireclay blue glazed brick cover the low walls and a golden yellow Fireclay tile adds a backdrop to the cook line wall and rotisserie. Meyer Sound’s patented Constellation system let’s the restaurant have an energy buzz without deafening noise, allowing for easy conversations and loud music simultaneously