Poppy Restaurant

Celebrated chef, Jerry Traunfeld was looking to open a new restaurant named after his mother Poppy. We were very excited to collaborate with a creative person working in a different media and the opportunity to design a space that is reflective of the chef’s personality expressive of his inspirations and the food he creates. Stripping the space back to its wonderful old bones, to reveal brick walls, it provided a wonderful contrast for the Scandinavian modern feel reminiscent of his childhood home that Jerry looked to as a model. A long horizontal window and display slot was designed to provide glimpses to the kitchen and display feature seasonal floral trimmings. Inspired by an early meeting when the selected tableware was presented, a tray and small plate collage that would become standard service for the thali tasting menu—the material and color palate was born. A simple blonde wood was chosen to best highlight the mixture of dark stoneware, Heath ceramics and amber glass bowls. Punches of gold and orange add warmth and whimsy evoking the colors and flavors of Indian spices. We took special care to design a pleasant workspace in kitchen, a space that is usually a dark and ignored back of house function, here full of natural light and connection to the dining room. 

In addition to design of the restaurant we were involved in upgrades to the entire building which included upgrading the storefronts in the beautiful art deco facade picking up on historic tile patterns in its base as well as seismic retrofit to the building. 

interior tenant improvement and exterior facade and seismic upgrades to shell and core

www.poppyseattle.com

interiors: Anne Fisher

contractor: Randy Reiley Group

building owner: Redside Partners