To re-imagine a department store built in 1947 as a bar and restaurant, designer Janis Leonard and restaurateur Karl Kopp went back to the basics, proving that modern simplicity is always in style. (By Jorge Markamo/Photography by Chris Loomis)
Back in 1988, when AZ 88 opened in central Scottsdale, there was no thriving museum of contemporary art next door, only a fledgling Old Town Scottsdale nightlife scene and few restaurants, compared to the high number that exists today. AZ88’s owner, Karl Kopp, saw a need for something with style and substance in the area, so he opened the bright and airy space adjacent to a picturesque, park-like greenbelt and named it after the state and the opening year. Now, a cultural whirlwind swirls around AZ88’s location, in the Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza.
Kopp’s done it again with Hanny’s, his second bar/restaurant in Arizona, this one located at 1st Street and Adams, deep in downtown Phoenix. Like AZ88, the name is of utmost importance– this time named for the building’s prior life as another Hanny’s, Phoenix’s first department store. And also like AZ88, many wondered if Hanny’s would work – an almost autonomous location and an interior that seems overdressed for the occasion. (And by overdressed, we mean stylishly underdressed.) At AZ88, Kopp’s designer, Janis Leonard, uses the space as a blank canvas, designing thought-provoking installations on a monthly basis. At Hanny’s, simplicity is the name of the game, both in the design, the menu, and the overall experience. It’s classic, like it’s been there the entire time. In some sense, it has – Leonard and Kopp have kept many of the same retail markers that were installed inside the 1947 building. The words “Christian Dior” or “Pierre Cardin” can still be seen in some spots. But the refab didn’t come easy.
“When we walked in, it was just a total disaster,” says Leonard. “It needed a lot of cleaning up but we knew the Art Deco building had great bones, great potential.” Leonard avoided any potential for kitschy retail references by keeping the color scheme in the family of brown/gray, ochre, and pale purple. Leonard says she experienced a little resistance getting their plans approved, because, “we had to appease the preservationists, on a city and state level,” she says. “But in the end, there are benefi ts to having these people weigh in – to help protect these buildings.”
With so many materials left exposed, and the addition of only leather or metal, lighting became a paramount element in the design. Cords of light were attached to the underside of sofas, illuminating the ground below them for an elevational effect, and wrappings of leather around four main columns include subtle up-lighting that seems to connect them with a line of light around the perimeter. “Lighting tricks give dimension to the otherwise boxy space,” says Leonard.
Lighting tricks also come into play upstairs, where a bank of bathrooms is located at the end of a mirrored hallway. Once through, guests step into an oval-shaped space with white walls and hot pink lighting. To fi nd an open restroom, one must push a door (none of them are marked) to see if it’s locked/occupied. It’s a fun touch that all of Hannys’ diverse crowd enjoys.
During the day, the lunch scene is comprised mainly of workers from the surrounding downtown high rises. After work, the same crowd meets here for cocktails. But by 8 p.m., the demographic makes a decided shift from ties and loafers to designer jeans and stilettos. It’s about this time that a panel in a wall up near the ceiling is removed to reveal a DJ, who spins most weekends until the bar closes at about 1:30 a.m.
Both groups enjoy an extremely simple menu of fl atbreads, sandwiches, and sharable appetizers. Most are there (at least late night) for crafty cocktails and a sip or two off the top-notch wine list.
Even by Phoenix standards, Hanny’s is still new. It has yet to see the surrounding cultural growth that AZ88 has enjoyed. Does Leonard prefer one over the other? “I don’t,” she says. “But Hanny’s feels more urbane. I do enjoy seeing people walk along city streets outside of its windows.” (40 N. 1st St., 602-252-2285)
