In a place where hot new restaurants and bars are, let's be real, a dime a dozen, design-savvy entrepreneurs are looking to art to help distinguish their brands from the pack.
But we aren't talking about nice little painting in frames. Nope, murals, and even graffiti, are making big statements inside the buzziest restaurants of San Francisco and Oakland. From feminine florals to testosterone-driven hunting scenes to playful street art–inspired works, check out 10 local eateries winning at the art game.
Pastrami, bagel, chocolate babka and rugelach are not the only reasons to stop by Wise Sons' Fillmore location. To highlight the immersive experience of the Jewish delicatessen, cofounder Evan Bloom hired SF artist Amos Goldbaum to design a mural inspired by the Fillmore District of yore, once the hub of the local Jewish community.
"I referenced archival photos from two historically Jewish neighborhoods, the Fillmore in San Francisco and the Lower East Side in New York," says Goldbaum, who depicts our Victorian houses and streetcars inside a bustling street market of New York. The result is a refined portrait of a bi-coastal Jewish-American life. "My grandfather grew up in the tenements of the Lower East Side, and I wanted to incorporate the pushcarts and street food vendors that helped introduce Jewish food to America," explains the artist, who also worked also on the mural at Wise Sons' Hayes Valley location. // Wise Sons, 1520 Fillmore St. (NoPa), wisesonsdeli.com
