The adaptive reuse project was a one-year renovation led by Side Angle Side architects Annie-Lauire Grabiel and Arthur Furman. Grabiel and Furman reimagined a large portion of the post office building, circa 1967, into a 3,500 sq ft specialty market, bar, and cafe, with the addition of 1,500 sq ft of outdoor dining.
Project Name- Tiny Grocer Hyde Park
Studio Name- Side Angle Side Architects
“The Hyde Park U.S. Post Office was an important neighborhood hub since the 1960’s – so we were especially careful to keep the integrity and spirit of the mid-century-utilitarian design. As the anchor tenant in the space, Tiny Grocer continues to be the center of the community, a place to gather, shop, eat and drink,” says Arthur Furman, founding partner, Side Angle Side.
The original scope of work was just the grocery store and cafe, but during the schematic design process owner Steph Steele requested the addition of the 1,500 sq ft dining courtyard. The space, previously an asphalt loading area for the post office, is now a lively outdoor cafe and wine garden paved with antique red brick, a cast-in-place concrete banquette, and bookended with a steel trellis. The architects added a stucco restroom building on one side and a linear steel planter on the other to turn the former loading area into an outdoor room and provide separation from the car park.
The interior layout and design features intricate mercantile shelving and bar millwork, the back of the house layout includes kitchen, office, storage, and bar equipment. Working closely with the owner, design finishes hint at the building’s midcentury past. The large, centered bar features terra cotta tile across the front, topped with concrete gray and white quartz countertops. The architects exposed the original ceiling and open web joists adding metal decking and industrial lighting. The team chose to polish the existing concrete floors leaving the weathered imperfections and patched grooves amassed over time. A custom, built-in leather banquette (by Undercover Austin Upholstery) lines the length of the back wall for bistro dining at Bureau de Poste.
“We absolutely loved working on this project. When a client has a strong vision, our job is to embrace that dream and usher it into reality. This was very much the case with Steph and Tiny Grocer, we could not be prouder of the results,” says Annie-Laurie Grabiel, founding partner, Side Angle Side.
