Loquat, San Francisco

Loquat is a new bakery and café located on a picturesque corner in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. Named after the trees found throughout the city that are beloved for their sweet and tangy golden fruit, it’s a joint venture from the team behind The Mill and Four Barrel Coffee and an alum of another local gem, Tartine. Loquat sets itself apart from the myriad other bakeries and cafes in San Francisco with a focus on classic Jewish and Levantine pastries and opened in autumn of 2022.

House of Gul was hired to design Loquat’s brand identity, visual system, and print assets. Forgoing any visual association with its sibling businesses, Loquat is defined by a selection of vibrant and warm earthy tones to reference the color of its pastry selection, and the design studio also makes prominent use of Sharp Type’s blackletter revival, Respira Black.

The design direction was built from the idea of modernizing classical illuminated manuscripts and imagining how the ancient coffee houses of Europe and Asia would show up in a modern society. Respira was inspired by a particular style of Spanish blackletter often found in illuminated manuscripts of Andalusia, making it a perfect candidate for Loquat’s branding. Used for the main logotype, the blackletter’s gothic elements and ornamentation are tastefully balanced for contemporary applications, imparting a timeless elegance. The bold gold logotype set in one of Loquat’s windows is particularly fun.