Leona Botanical Cafe & Bar
Austin, Texas
Home to the newest locations of Austin favorites Veracruz All Natural and Dee Dee, Leona Botanical Cafe & Bar introduces a third place—a spot away from the home and the workplace, where people can gather, relax, and refuel—to the small municipality of Sunset Valley tucked into larger South Austin. Leona is inspired by the welcoming, layered experiences of international food markets and has an approachable character that invites guests to spend time outside immersed in its gardens filled with native plants. Glass, steel, and wood are the predominate materials, lending simplicity to the design and allowing the buildings to blend into the landscape as they patina over time.
Located immediately off of busy Brodie Lane, visitors enter the five-acre site that unfolds into a meadow-like green space with a tapestry of colorful, drought-tolerant plants. A circular entry portal opens up to this central node where the cafe, pavilion, and eateries are placed on the periphery. The organic forms of both the portal and site plan are important elements for the Leona identity, as they embody a connection to the environment essential to the experience of place at the cafe and bar. Informal and formal seating areas enhance the tranquil outdoor atmosphere allowing guests to relax, eat, and drink in a variety of settings.
The buildings are light structures that blur the boundaries between the interior and exterior. The cafe sets the casual tone for the site and is a metal and glass box surrounded by a generous porch, which comprises more than two-thirds of the square footage of the building. The porch speaks directly to a smaller pavilion across the meadow where live music and more outdoor seating are positioned under the steel trellis framework. The design of the three nearby eateries reinforces this relaxing atmosphere. The black steel and grey ash-colored wood let these small buildings sit quietly under the trees with the trellis structure harboring more vegetation to protect the built-in seating and planters.
The interior of the cafe highlights honest materials and works seamlessly with the characteristics of the architecture, creating a cohesive design experience and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. Black terra-cotta tile lays ground to a transportive, rustic interior. The same stucco finish that wraps the exterior continues inward to envelop the walls and banquettes. Raw stoneware tile defines the bar and cleverly placed lighting creates a sense of daylight deep in the heart of the cafe. Touches of weathered wood add warmth, and a sculptural ceiling element, hanging as a central feature above the bar, adds a sense of whimsey to the space. Foliage spills from planters thoughtfully placed at the perimeter and cascades of soft interior lights continue the twinkle effect of the garden and its lights during evening and nighttime hours.
