Franklin’s Coffee Shop reimagines a 1000 SF lower-level retail space most recently occupied by the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee as an intimate café. The program includes a new coffee bar area with a display area, point of sale counter, reach-in coolers, and support space. The coffee shop is connected to The Public Kitchen & Bar, which shares a prep kitchen with Franklin’s to support the hot kitchen and help with efficiency. The space also provides a “home base” for the pastry chef serving multiple interconnected restaurants, who was previously sharing limited space in a different location.

The interior design is inspired by the Art Deco style of the late 1930s and early 1940s, with period-inspired lighting fixtures, rich finishes, and custom millwork with brass accents. Furnishings include fixed counter stools along the Liberty Street windows and sidewalk café tables and chairs. Marble kickplates, intricate flooring patterns, murals, coffered ceilings, and deep teal shelving create an enticing and relaxing space. The coffee shop pays tribute to notable coffee lover Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who publicly celebrated the end of coffee rationing during WWII after years of substituting with milk for breakfast.

The renovation included replacement-in-kind of existing wood storefront doors, sidelites, and exterior trim. This Historic awning windows were refurbished and are now fully operational. New trellises and planters with climbing vines around the window openings delineate the entry, and new exterior wall sconces flank the front entry stairs. Existing historic pipe column guardrails were fitted with infill mesh for safety. The exterior color palette was specifically selected to match existing colors and harmonize with The Public Kitchen & Bar next door.

The new coffee house brings additional activity to the area, and earlier in the day, than when the space was used as a private office. Franklin’s provides high quality grab-and-go options for local residents and surrounding businesses, who now have access to fresh/pre-made food choices.

In association with Daniel Reed Hospitality.

 

PHOTOGRAPHY: © Jeremiah Hull