The main floor “La Mensa” is where patrons can stay to eat or pick up hot or cold food to go Italian cafeteria-style. A monumental, wood vault becomes the unifying element. It evokes a basilica vault made of quarter-sawn white oak like an unfinished basket that spans and collects people from the entrance and coffee bar, through the cafeteria style seating, and the altar-like ‘tavola calda’.

Side aisles act as confessionals for those seeking absolution through pastries or pizza, and its mosaic floor evokes the flour and sawdust of local suburban Italian bakeries. Finally, the bakery and ovens are captured at the end of the space by a deep mahogany arch – an apse devoted to the warmth and aroma of fresh bread on Sundays.

We find joy in the unexpected details and materials that occupy the space between new, pristine installations, and the ‘non-finito’ of the exposed, 19th C. host building.

GPA signature forato clay tiles, still waiting for a layer of finish plaster, are alternately rotated at the corner to create an almost decorative edge and lining to the raw steel stair. Steel ‘ribbons’, artifacts from a former use, are stitched together with fresh cut leather strapping, leading the public to the finer upper level dining.

“Osteria Da Geppeto”, on the second floor, is devoted to Cosimo Mammoliti’s father, Vince. In creating its menu, executive chef Giovanna Alonzi wanted the presence of bread and mother yeast to be felt as a reminder that “Geppetto” is Sud Forno’s restaurant. The menu reinterprets classic Italian dishes and traditional ingredients against a backdrop of warm wood and light.