Gertrude's Restaurant

commoncraft’s second collaboration with the team behind Gertie is a Jew-ish bistro called Gertrude’s. Like its sister restaurant, Gertrude’s aims to be a social hub for the surrounding community. Gertrude’s also nods to Gertie’s design language through its use of accent colors, warm wood textures, curvilinear forms, and an overall rich composition of complementary materials. Gertrude’s is situated in a space that was formerly occupied by a beloved neighborhood restaurant. As a result, commoncraft preserved many of the space’s existing architectural features, including exposed brick, tin ceilings, and distressed plaster finishes.

The collection of architectural objects that comprise the new restaurant simultaneously respect and play off the distinctive character of these original elements. The centerpieces of this collection are a honed, burgundy-colored marble bar and drink rail. Beyond the bar, an articulated oak shelving unit frames a mirror that was salvaged from the preexisting restaurant. Across the space, a serpentine banquette defines dining areas of varying intimacy. The banquette interlocks with a radiused niche that is accented by a hand-painted mural with vibrant floral motifs.s

Collaborators — SLC Restoration Corp., Polonsky & Friends, Clair Dufournier
Photography — Liz Clayman, Patrick Hamon