Pain points
Small footprint for a functional bakery

Constraints
Preserve the historic facade and interior brick walls

My Role
Senior Designer/Project Manager

The historic Vesuvio bakery is an icon in New York’s Soho district with its lime green storefront since opening in 1920. 

Designing Vesuvio for the new owner, the main challenge/pain point was how to fit all the equipment and work space in the back of house area and still leave sufficient space for the customers. I first interviewed the owner and chef to determine their wants and needs, and listed all required equipment with a draft plan for discussion. We came up with the pass-through bread wall idea between front and back so the staff can reach the items without moving too much, including passing the pastries. This idea helped us to save traffic space and increase the storage. After everyone was on the same page, I carefully designed the plan around the equipment dimensions to make sure everything will fit.

One big constraint here was that the team was not allowed to change the brick wall. The historic brick wall has a nice charm but it also came with wavy walls and irregular angles. This became a challenge for designing the counter and drink ledge. I eventually designed a backsplash around the Carrara drink ledge to give the space a nice wraparound finish without touching the brick wall. 

Regarding the overall design, the team wanted to adapt the historic facade to bring Vesuvio’s former glory back. Beside patching the wood, stripping and repainting the wall, we also carried the charm of an old Italian boutique shop with a contemporary twist into the space, so the overall design will look finished from inside out.