The Liberty Restaurant is an American gastropub located in South End, one of Charlotte’s hippest neighborhoods. The owners wanted to create a unique local joint focused on great food and great drinks. They brought us in to create an unconventional dining room that uses recycled materials in unexpected ways. We incorporated wooden pallets into the ceiling and walls, creating a multi-faceted design with back-lit, amber-colored panels. The center dining area is enclosed by beer kegs fashioned as columns with illuminated rings. This “beerquarium” feature in the dining room is now a locally infamous landmark. The bar contained a pre-existing, heavily detailed wood design with hundreds of photographs displaying traditional beer and food ads from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. We tied the bar and the dining room together by using the same style of furniture throughout the entire space, along with customized chandeliers, booths, banquettes and lighting. We also designed super-scaled wall graphics with text and words lifted from the menu, along with informative and witty explanations of the types of beer served as well as tidbits on the history of beer, pubs and gastropubs.
