Four Bay Area ventures adapt to today’s challenges with innovation in mind.
Imagined by celebrity chef Matthew Kenney and Kyle and Tracy Vogt, Baia is a new restaurant concept centered around sumptuous Italian dishes. The kitchen crafts plant-based Italian favorites for customers to enjoy via delivery and takeout before the doors open for table service. “The Bolognese is rich and full of flavor,” Kenney says. “I also love the chocolate torta; that’s definitely my favorite dessert.” When it is safe to do so, Baia will open for dine-in in the San Francisco landmark building that housed Jardiniere for 21 years. In addition to Baia, the space will also temporarily house Woodblock, Kenney and crew’s plant-based sushi pop-up that offers items like asparagus tempura with spicy ponzu and a Truffle Explosion Roll, also available for takeout and delivery.
The San Francisco Decorator Showcase is entering its 43rd year of philanthropy with a virtual tour—and tentative in-person tour—of a fully renovated home. More than 20 designers, including Regan Baker, Dina Brandman and Chad Dorsey, transformed 27 spaces in a luxurious Mediterranean-style mansion in the West Clay Park neighborhood. Ticket sales will benefit University High School’s financial aid program, which allows deserving students to receive a world-class preparatory education. “We are so grateful to the designers and contractors for their commitment to supporting our students during this challenging time and are excited to bring the first-ever virtual tour of Showcase,” says Shaundra Bason, the school’s director of development. The fund’s increasing importance in the time of crisis brings a newfound meaning to the yearly event.
A collaboration among Bay Area mainstay Heath Ceramics, ceramicist Akio Nukaga and furniture-maker Hideki Takayama is especially welcome with the pandemic shifting more attention to homes. The line of 300 handthrown pottery creations is dubbed Love and Hope. Co-owner Cathy Bailey explains, “This collection reflects the strength, pain, connection and love we have experienced this year.”
Retail visionary Brian Bolke opened the fourth iteration of The Conservatory, characterized by an effortlessly chic style. Seeking to redefine the intersection of brick-and-mortar and e-commerce, the 900-square-foot Napa boutique serves as a gallery for its online shop, which offers clothing, jewelry, wellness products and living goods. It contains “plenty of space, plenty of natural light, and the store was designed with a feeling of calm,” says Bolke, who models his ventures after a philosophy of “considered luxury,” a dedication to ethical products that bring joy.
Photography by: Baia photo by Wonho Frank Lee; The Conservatory photo by Alexandra Pearson looney; all photos courtesy of brands
