Café Emilia, a quaint and elegant Italian restaurant

Our client purchased this building which was formerly a restaurant, originally constructed as a wood frame house. When we were retained as the architects, the exterior of the building was clad in yellow vinyl siding with a black awning. The interior was divided into (2) dining rooms, one having a large “U” shaped bar. Our design kept the entrance door in the same relative location, however, we created an entrance vestibule/foyer area and raised the walls above the building to provide identity along the busy highway it’s located on. By raising the height we also increased the ceiling of this space to 2 stories in height and designed a custom wood cross-beamed ceiling with up-lighting and “sky” mural. 

The building’s exterior was changed to an earth tone stucco and mahogany “rafters” and “beams” were added, some of which provide protection from the weather for customers entering and exiting. Four quarter circle windows were mulled together to form a large circle window which further identifies the entrance feature and provides natural light for the foyer. The interior consists of the main dining room and a smaller dining room which may be closed off by glass doors to facilitate a private party. A small sit-down service bar was added for customers waiting for a table. Café Emilia was an immediate success and continues to the present day. It’s interior and exterior remains as it did when we designed it in 2002.