Mellow Mushroom - Fredericksburg

Mellow Mushroom Fredericksburg combines features of a deconstructed warehouse with art elements and found objects. The 4,650 sf restaurant is organized around a large cast-in-place concrete serpentine bar with a white oak “boardwalk” that wraps the wall at in the lobby and guides guests through the restaurant. A large mural painted on site is a colorful focal point that includes cultural elements unique to the area. The curving bar is fronted with painted dowels and electric conduit, a further expression of the found object approach while enhancing the fluidity of the shape. Overhead, warehouse windows are collaged to create a defined area for the bar, elements of which are duplicated in the custom bar shelving. Custom banquet seating is separated from the kitchen pass with standard concrete breeze blocks, customized with painted interiors. The adjacent kitchen pass is sheathed in corrugated metal, painted with a lenticular technique so that the form appears as different colors from either end of the restaurant. An adjacent patio dining room—an addition to the new commercial building—offers all-season dining and access to the bar, separated by an operational sliding partition.