The Flour + Water team asked LD to design the flagship for their pizzeria concept – a remodeling of the iconic Rose Pistola space in North Beach. The master plan is to have much of the ingredient preparation, but especially the dough, prepared at this large location for what will be a group of much smaller to-go (and delivery) pizzerias throughout the Bay Area. Chefs Thomas McNaughton, Ryan Pollnow, and their entire team at F+W are fanatically focused on their dough recipes, so we saw this as an opportunity to celebrate the actual dough making and allow the customer to see the behind-the-scenes magic in action.

The existing space is unusual in that the property passes completely through the building, with entrances on both Columbus Avenue and Stockton Streets. We took advantage of that, locating the restaurant entrance on Columbus and the to-go entrance on Stockton, with a glassed-in dough room acting as the divider between the two. This puts the heart of the operation on center stage. It also serves as a unique private dining room for larger dinner parties and events.

We strove to make a very white (think flour), light-filled space; informal and comfortable. We opened the ceiling and brightened the interior with playful light fixtures and smooth, clean finishes. Our shop used small steel square bar and a forming detail to achieve unity throughout all of the fabricated elements. We integrated pizza box storage, which is notoriously bulky, into a steel-framed screening system, which reveals the dough room interior as the boxes are used. The existing mosaic tile floor was restored, and classic materials like oak and Carrera marble were celebrated, but it is the dough that is the star of the show, as it should.