Portfolio Type: Hospitality

The growing new urbanist community of WaterSound needed to expand its existing beach club facilities along the Gulf of Mexico. The new facilities essentially doubled the space available for club members and their guests to enjoy the club’s amenities and beach location. New features include a free-form, zero-entry pool with a lazy river, a 2,225-square-foot clubhouse with a grille and restrooms on the pool level, a small pool bathhouse, fire pits, cabanas, and a band stage and amphitheater lawn. 

Hello Hilo is a prototype bakery for King’s Hawaiian and its Hello Hilo brand. The design aimed to embody the spirit of “ohana,” reflecting a sense of family and warmth through the sharing of food and hospitality. To promote this atmosphere, the space features abundant indoor and outdoor seating to encourage guests to linger, along with large windows that foster connections between areas.  

The architecture pays tribute to traditional Hawaiian elements, incorporating natural and diverse woods and stones. The roof’s angle creates a striking silhouette against the sky. Additionally, the drive-thru, often overlooked in restaurant design, boasts a spacious, intricately designed overhang and wide driveways. We prioritized ample space for customer and staff interactions, ensuring that every aspect of hospitality was thoughtfully considered. Vibrant colors and signage enhance the tropical aesthetic, while oversized sculptures offer creative backdrops for visitors’ social media photos. Since its opening, the bakery has achieved notable success in the community, prompting the business to extend its hours and optimize the use of its expansive back-of-house areas. 

Harrison’s Kitchen & Bar is a key dining destination in historic downtown Panama City, a revitalized space after Hurricane Michael’s devastation in 2018. Offering stunning views of the Panama City Marina and St. Andrews Bay, the restaurant’s name pays homage to the historic downtown’s early name and Harrison Avenue, the main route leading visitors through downtown to the restaurant’s entrance. 

The design features brick construction paired with wood floors and industrial accents, reflecting the rich history of the Panama City Marina. The open layout and expansive windows create a light and airy atmosphere, framing the scenic beauty of St. Andrews Bay. Inside, guests enjoy comfortable seating and a large, full-service bar, while the outdoor area offers a mix of covered and open patio seating, complete with a fireplace and space for games within the restaurant’s garden walls. 

A new cypress wood exposed roof and detailed wood railings that included a complete bar renovation were incorporated into the project. The new ground floor addition consisted of a new pizza bar, waste storage, and elevator. The project was a major transformation of Southside 30A by changing the back-of-house facilities into an open plaza front. The main challenge was to maintain a functioning restaurant during construction. This required finding inventive ways of locating support services and functions, while screening them from the public view.

Part of this refresh included a renovation to Bud & Alley’s, Seaside’s oldest restaurant. We provided a 3,800-square-foot addition with a nautical-inspired tower to provide views of the ocean. The addition connects to the existing covered porches to provide indoor/outdoor connections that facilitate socializing. A new terrace-level dining area and expanded bar seating was provided. An additional 2,200 SF of renovations included updating the restrooms and providing additional outside space for operational needs. These renovations and additions were designed by Dhiru Thadani and DAG Architects was the Architect of Record.