Peek Inside the Healdsburg Restaurant Nominated as Nation’s Best Designed

Healdsburg's Single Thread has been nominated for one of the nation's top restaurant awards.

Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. (Courtesy of AvroKO)

By biteclub

Healdsburg’s Single Thread Restaurant is among the James Beard Award Restaurant, Chef and Media Finalists announced today.

Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.

The fledgling 52-seat dining room was tapped as having one of the best restaurant designs for 2017, led by NYC design firm AvroKO, which was also involved in designing Napa’s now-shuttered Ninebark/Fagiani’s. The nomination for Single Thread was for restaurants under 75 seats. AvroKO was also nominated for the design of Momotaro in Chicago.

Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.

Single Thread opened in early December, featuring beautifully assembled, intensively seasonal farm-to-table dishes from Chef Kyle Connaughton. The restaurant was hailed as one of the most important openings of 2016, and the nearly $300 per person price tag has stoked the curiosity of foodies nationwide. 

Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.
Inside Single Thread Restaurant in Healdsburg. Courtesy of AvroKO.

AvroKO explained the design: 

The AvroKO team found its inspiration for the design of Single Thread in husband and wife team and owners, Kyle and Katina Connaughton. In understanding that a restaurant is not only a place to eat, but also a functioning studio for its craftsmen, AvroKO created a dining experience that is akin to spending an evening with Kyle and Katina in their personal workshop, where diners are given the opportunity to both observe the artistic process and enjoy its end product. Elements of the ‘studio’ are found throughout the dining room: silverware is stored in one of seven hand-numbered drawers that label which course it is used for; ceramic vessels found in various storage units appear to be decorative until the Chef fetches them for a specific course during the night; a glass terrarium serves as both a beautiful visual and a workspace for Katina to build nightly flower displays. Odes to the couple’s love for farming, gardening, and molecular gastronomy can also be found throughout the space. Woven patterns within the dining room screens reference DNA sequencing of common kitchen herbs like basil and shallots, while a rooftop fountain has a series of stepped recesses and grooves based on golden sections and naturally occurring scientific proportions which catch water and alter the flow.

Also named as James Beard Award finalists for 2017 in the Bay Area:
– Outstanding Chef: Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadwood, St. Helena; David Kinch, Manresa, Los Gatos
– Best New Restaurant: In Situ, Tartine Manufactory, both in SF
– Outstanding Baker: Belinda Leong and Michel Suas, B. Patisserie, SF
– Outstanding Bar Program: Bar Agricole, SF
– Outstanding Restaurant: Quince, SF
– Outstanding Service: Terra, St. Helena
– Outstanding Wine Program: Benu, SF
– Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional: Miljenko Grgich, Grgich Hills Estate, Rutherford
– Best Chef, West: Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn, SF; Corey Lee, Benu, SF

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