Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant
A fully fabricated interior grounded in Rincon Hill’s industrial roots
Project Type: Hospitality
Design Scope: Interior Architecture & Custom Fabrication
Location: San Francisco
Every element in Local was custom built. From the wine racks to the bar canopy to the solid wood tables, the space is a complete fabrication—crafted, not assembled.
Set in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill, the design nods to the neighborhood’s industrial roots: shipyards, unions, raw materials. That history shows up not as nostalgia, but as clarity—through honest materials, precise detailing, and a warm, unfussy palette.
Context & Craft
The design pulls from Rincon Hill’s industrial past—shipyards, steel, union labor—and reworks it into something clean and contemporary. Materials do the heavy lifting: honed stone, solid wood, warm metals. Nothing decorative, nothing extra. Just contrast, clarity, and craft.
Custom Fabrication & Detail
Nearly every element was custom-fabricated—from the cantilevered tables to the wine-glass light fixture suspended above the bar. The wine room features a wall-to-wall racking system built to display a deep cellar with elegance and clarity.
Sustainability
Rather than relying on flash or excess, the design focuses on permanence and durability. Solid wood, stone, and steel—materials that wear in, not out—align with the restaurant’s ethos of quality over quantity.
Organizing Within Constraints
The narrow floorplate and compressed ceiling height demanded precise spatial choreography. Zones are delineated by shifts in ceiling plane, lighting, and furniture height: a raised communal table, an intimate wine room, a compact bar anchored by a glowing wine glass canopy. Sightlines remain open and direct throughout.