The building that now houses the Big City Bread restaurant and bakery began its life as a post-war electronics parts store, eventually becoming a Salvation Army Thrift Store.

In 1998, the building and its barren parking lot were renovated to provide a home for a local cafe and bakery. The result is a shady and inviting courtyard that serves as a beloved neighborhood gathering place.

Orienting the space toward the community required solving parking issues onsite. Excavation and regrading the site to create a sunken patio, along with careful detailing of onsite parking, ensure that people feel welcome in the space, with cars being intruders into the pedestrian realm. A careful layering of planting materials and site features gives pedestrians a feeling of being protected and sheltered from the street. The re-cladding of an existing warehouse addition with warmer materials was a sustainable solution which minimized waste by reusing an existing structure in a creative and neighborhood-supporting way.