Lucy Quinn

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Lucy Quinn 〰️

Let ‘Em Eat

From Mississippi to Missouri, Lucy Quinn is an illustrated journey of two Geminis.

Chef Ben Welch named his restaurant after his grandmother, Lucy Quinn. His connection with her is cosmic (they both share the same astrological sign) and his love for her inspired an idea, a menu, and a custom illustrated floral wallpaper to help bring it all together.

The wallpaper at Lucy Quinn adorns an otherwise humble L-shaped hallway of the restaurant that leads to the kitchen.

Illustrative details

As Ben Welch was building out the space that would become his restaurant, Lucy Quinn, he enlisted Grown to help with some of his branding, signage, and other design details. We met with architects Min+ to align on what they were designing for the interior, and decided we would create custom-designed wallpaper for a hallway visible from the bar.

Knowing Ben has a lot of St. Louis pride (he was adament about including a cardinal in his “Q” logo which I helped him redraw in a “contour” style more aligned with some of the other design elements he had going on). With this in mind, I knew I wanted to include nods to St. Louis, to the South, and to his grandmother Lucy. I asked Ben what some of her favorite foods and flowers were, and learned that the two of them even shared the same exact birthday.

With that, I created for Ben (and Lucy) a 12-foot tall applied-vinyl mural custom illustrated including:

a cardinal with a secret “Q” eye
a woman’s hand cradling the Gemini constellation
Ben’s own catchphrase of “Let ‘Em Eat” in cross-stitch lettering
Flowers and plants: Camellias, Hydrangeas, Hibiscus, Cornflowers, Okra and Collard Greens
Starry skies and tiny fireflies (aka lighting bugs)
a gold-framed portrait of Lucy herself

Elements of the wallpaper were incorporated into parking signage, menus, and even a beer (held by Caroline)

After the wallpaper was created and installed, I used the various elements within it to augment the menus and continue to define the look of the Lucy Quinn dining experience.

Menu details.

The wallpaper, originally created simply to add a bit of intrigue to a back wall you’d otherwise not notice at all, ended up becoming a huge part of Lucy Quinn’s public communication, social media presence, and even made its way onto a beer can.