Segnatore

Segnatore is a neighborhood restaurant inspired by the hidden history of folk healers in Italy. The menu draws influence from the traditions of Italian cuisine with a focus on Midwest ingredients and hospitality. Inspired by these healers, we incorporated traditional Italian motifs as well as details like pressed tin ceilings and new wood wainscoting that would have been original to the building and typical of Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.

We sourced vintage artwork and oil paintings that contain imagery of both mysticism and the female form, nods to the power of the Segnatore as well as the restaurant's female-identifying leadership. Other design details include ​Italian ceramic tiles from the 1960s, mismatched antique wooden chairs from Berlin, 19th century Italian display shelving, an antique wrought-iron candelabra, and an antique pulpit from an early 20th century suburban Chicago church that serves as the host stand. We commissioned local botanical artist Courtney Howell of Biota Co-op to create arrangements made from dried flowers and herbs.

Photos by Marisa Klug-Morataya