PANCAKE SOCIAL
Photography by Fredrik Brauer
Pancake Social is a restaurant and coffee house offering all-day breakfast, with menu by Chef Anne Quatrano located at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, GA.
The design was conceived as a sun-filled breakfast room with an outdoor-covered veranda. With dark blue and white stripes, the exterior awning was positioned so a sliver of sunlight would hit the textured walls throughout the day. Upon entering the space, guests will be greeted by a coffee and beverage bar consisting of a monolith of maple butcher block with slender white steel shelves above. Just beyond, the dining room with large tables and booths will give groups, large or small, the opportunity to gather over a meal.
Wood paneled walls seem to melt where clocks are located announcing “Pancake Hour” all day long. The textured slat walls provide visual continuity from front to back while also creating sound baffles. Booths and banquette seating are light and airy with pastel pink and orange fabrics that compliment the mostly white interior. Much of the design was inspired by the simplicity seen in Scandinavian design with its clean lines, natural light and raw woods. Little of the design is off the shelf, from hand-stenciled floor tiles and cnc cut wood walls to the locally made butcher block bar and tabletops. The stenciled plywood floors have imagery of coffee cups, pancakes, and strips of bacon creating symmetrical and repeating patterns in dark blue and white. Treebird Branding designed the patterns and Quatrano’s team produced them.
By dividing the room with the coffee bar, two types of dining are created - fast-casual in front and sit-down dining behind. Symmetry was adhered to in order to simplify the visual while creating a highly functional space that utilizes straight forward circulation and efficiency.
The Team
Originally imagined by Dan Jacobson, Owner of Steel Wave Ventures and formerly of Chick-fil-A, Pancake Social is also from Steven Chan—a 20-year veteran of the Atlanta restaurant industry and Founder of Tin Drum Asian Kitchen; Anne Quatrano—James Beard Award-winning Chef and Owner of Bacchanalia, Star Provisions, W.H. Stiles Fish Camp at Ponce City Market and Floataway Cafe; and Tony Riffel—Co-Founder of Octane Coffee Company and Elevator Factory.
