Bloom Restaurant

Bloom embodies its namesake. What began as a coffee shop, evolved into a beloved brunch spot and has now grown into a full-scale restaurant and bar. The owner and chef were very hands-on in the project planning. Having restaurant experience themselves, the design team took great care in planning the flow of service for both front and back of house.
The existing space had the teller counters to the left with the vault behind, offices to the right and a large conference room at the back. As an ode to the original layout we located the open kitchen and chef’s counter along the previous line of the teller counter. We removed the offices and opened up the space to gain light from the floor-to-ceiling storefront along the East wall. The conference room maintained the same footprint but is now a private dining room with new sliding doors.
The aesthetic was largely inspired by the owner’s taste. They wanted a bright, welcoming space which was neutral yet colorful and full of greenery. With such a large footprint, we broke up the spaces into zones which received coordinating architectural elements. The bar has a lit, mirrored arch display and a curved hanging glass rack mimicking the curved bar below. The central banquette anchors the main space with circular booths and arches above. The banquette was specifically designed for displaying potted and hanging plants. The private dining room needed to be open and flexible so graphic arches were designed with a painted arch above and a wood arch below to protect the walls from tables and chairs.
The outdoor patios transformed a bland covered plaza into a welcoming space wrapped by built-in planters, benches and a screen wall all out of Cumaru. The client had a favorite “Charleston green” in their previous space. We used that color to simply paint the base of the building to visually ground it. As a nod to the Charleston green and Appalachian fusion on the menu, we painted the outdoor ceilings a traditional Haint Blue. Pendant lights were also added to help “bring down” the high ceilings to a comfortable level when seated. The larger outdoor patio is the main seating for outdoor dining. The smaller patio is flexible and can be used for enjoying to-go coffee during the day, bar overflow, waiting area or additional dining seating during the busiest seasons.