Opening a new location for your business can be a challenge in many ways: contractors, deadlines, construction, delays. When you add into that a building with historic landmark status, the requirements can be overwhelming.
Jay’s Catering Company has been “bringing people to the table since 1967”. The Mastroianni family-owned business serves all of Southern California, including Orange County, Los Angeles and Riverside Counties.
In 2013 Jay’s Catering opened its first café, Ellie’s Table, named in honor of family matriarch Eleanor Mastroianni. The café, in North Beach, San Clemente quickly became a favorite stop for both locals and tourists. Based on that success, a second location was acquired in San Juan Capistrano. The historical Egan House, at one time called Harmony Hall, hosted parties for the influential and famous residents of the area. Although the building had great history, it was going to take some work to make it a beautiful place to call home.
After much renovation, the former hall and former home would become a café where it feels relaxing, but still highlights the historical features.
Starfish Signs & Graphics has been working with Jay’s for a number a years and on a number of different projects. When it came time to work on Ellie’s Table, Starfish’s experience helped
1. Preserve the historic integrity,
2. Navigate additional regulations due to historic status and
3. Balance the look of the architecture with the city regulations.
Custom signs were fabricated of CNC-routed aluminum letters and logo elements, painted to match the Ellie’s logo colors, and applied to 2” thick cedar wood planks. The wood was then finished with a dark stain and a high gloss finish.
These signs provide a handcrafted look and feel, to both complement the historic structure where Ellie’s is located, and to also offer a current clean and modern design style. Starfish worked closely with Armand Barragán, Jay’s grandson and COO of Jay’s Catering/Ellie’s Table and the City of San Juan Capistrano to obtain approval for these signs.
“Ellie’s Table is located in The Egan House – one of the most historic properties in
San Juan. Starfish Signs & Graphics worked directly with both the City’s Planning Commission and the Historic Preservation Manager, to ensure that the signs were fully in keeping with the City’s guidelines and best practices for development of historic properties” said Mike Reilly of Starfish Signs.
Mike and the Starfish team are happy to play a part in the success of Jay’s Catering and Ellie’s Table and will continue to work with them on future projects. And we will continue to visit Ellie’s Table – especially for the coffee and pastries!
If your business needs signage, whether or not your building is a historic site, Starfish can help you through the sign permitting process. Contact us today to learn how we can help you navigate all the regulations and requirements to Stand Out. Be Noticed. Get Results.