July 11, 2019

The Manufactory in LA by Studio BBA is a Multifaceted Dining Hybrid

The Manufactory’s Tartine Bianco, located in The Row, is helmed by LA chef Chris Bianco. Photography by Jakob Layman.

The trajectory was inevitable. San Francisco’s Tartine, with hungry patrons queueing around the block before the bakery’s 8:00 a.m. opening, expanded to a full-fledged restaurant, Tartine Manufactory, in the Mission District. Soon after its opening, San Francisco-based Studio BBA got the call to head south—to Los Angeles—to work on a unique site located in ROW DTLA, a behemoth of a 1920s concrete complex that was originally the LA Terminal Market, which bridges DTLA and the Arts District.

The Manufactory is located in The Row, which was formerly the LA Terminal Market. Photography by Jakob Layman.

Anand Sheth, Studio BBA’s lead design architect, collaborated with project architects House & Robertson to tame quite a beast—more than 40,000 square feet—for The Row’s anchor tenant. The Manufactory, as this outpost is called, would be a multifaceted hybrid: an all-day casual restaurant with multiple bars and seating options called Tartine Bianco after James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Bianco; a more formal enclosed dining room with a patio bar dubbed Alameda Supper Club; a grab-and-go component; and a retail market.

Alameda Supper Club at The Manufactory in Los Angeles features hardwood floors and Shaker chairs. Photography by Jakob Layman.

Front and center for all to see is the immense bakery. “With our hospitality projects, we like to say that the back of the house is as important as the front,” notes Sheth. “It’s all about transparency.” Below grade, a virtual city is devoted to storage, a test kitchen, and prep work, including grinding coffee beans and milling flour.

Given the scale, Sheth adhered to a minimal palette. No sensory overload here. Bar tops and counters are zinc. Bar fronts and shelving are white oak, the latter supported by custom stainless steel brackets. Cladding walls are creamy white ceramics, some laid as subway tiles, others triangle shaped. Flooring is polished concrete in Tartine Bianco, warming up to hardwood in Alameda Supper Club, and gray concrete tile in a hexagon pattern in the “pasta table” area. Playing off it all is an eclectic mix of seating, ranging from Shaker and Windsor to modern styles.

The Market at The Manufactory in Los Angeles. Photography by Jakob Layman.

Foodies didn’t take long to discover this new addition to DTLA’s culinary scene: During a midday visit shortly after opening, the place was packed.

Keep scrolling for additional images of this project >

A table in the Alameda Supper Club, part of The Manufactory at The Row in LA. Photography by Jakob Layman.
Tartine Bianco at The Manufactory in LA offers all-day dining. Photography by Jakob Layman.
The Market at The Manufactory sells foods, beverages, cookbooks, tableware, and more. Photography by Jakob Layman.

Read more: New in Los Angeles: 10 Recent Projects in the City of Angels

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