SOFRA BAKERY & CAFE
The word Sofra comes from an Arabic word meaning picnic, or dining table, or kilim, but perhaps more important thanthe literal translation, Sofra implies generosity and hospitality—traits that also describe Ana Sortun and Maura Kilpatrick’s bountiful food, and that we’ve used as inspiration for the design of the space spaces.
The first Sofra Bakery in Cambridge, Massachusetts opened in 2008. It is in what had been an Art Deco market. The host building was an extremely worn art deco market comprising yellow and green enameled metal panels. Other than extending the windows along the east side of the building, new signage, and general cleaning and restoration, the exterior remained as is.
This second Sofra is in Allston, Massachusetts and opened in 2023. With more seating capacity and a much larger kitchen, the space serves as a commissary for both locations as well as hosting cooking classes and private events. Many of the same design elements that were employed at the original space are used here. Both are housed in historically significant buildings, and both have an open kitchen with minimal intervention in the host building. Patterned tile echoes the Sofra logo. The spring green color is a major feature of both spaces and a warm yellow wasintroduced in the second location. The simple wood-and-pipe retail shelving and furniture system that was designed for the first bakery was again used here. Handwritten signs on brown craft paper are a tribute to the humility of the space.
A friend of Ana’s bequeathed to her a collection of hand painted spoons from Turkey. We designed a display system that gives the spoons pride of place. The collection is an excellent symbol of the Sofra sensibility that is evident in thefood and the hospitality: warm, personable, beautiful, well crafted, and unique.