Jay Paul Co.'s First Restaurant Buildout Takes Pride in California

"The spirit of California is, figuratively speaking, fused into the fabric of Poppy & Claro. Dining room chairs and table legs on the outdoor patio blaze with the rusted orange color of our splendid state flower, the poppy. "Claro," I learned, is another name for the wood of black walnut trees. The restaurant's design scheme incorporates milled woodwork throughout the space-but most noticeably in the form of a massive conference table made in the shape of California."

"The restaurant recalls urban and suburban interiors from the late 1960s and early 1970s. That bygone era of avocado green refrigerators, Pinto station wagons and earth tones everywhere. Designed by Cass Calder Smith, Poppy & Claro is the first restaurant buildout from the real estate firm Jay Paul Company. By the mid 1970s, those ubiquitous earth tones felt weighted and oppressive."

Poppy & Claro integrates California motifs through rusted poppy-orange furnishings and extensive milled woodwork, including a massive conference table shaped like California. Claro refers to black walnut wood used throughout the interior. The space features a bear collage by Jay Kelly and channels late 1960s–early 1970s urban and suburban interiors with avocado greens, Pinto-era references, and earth tones. Cass Calder Smith designed the restaurant as the first buildout by the Jay Paul Company. A high wall of windows brightens the palette and lets the orange blend with varied woods. The entrance sits down an alley behind the San José Museum of Art, with a parklet facing the Circle of Palms.

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