After finding a historic art deco building built in 1934 that was the site of a mom and pop dry cleaner, I was tasked by the owners to develop a concept for the gelato shop they were opening. Thinking that sometimes things are better left unchanged, I pitched the idea to keep the name of the previous tenant and call it as it was, An’s Dry Cleaning, a millennial focused, conceptually-driven destination.

The interior design concept uses the vernacular of a neighborhood mom-and-pop dry cleaner. Using wrapped formica countertops, ironing board shaped tables, fluorescent lighting fixtures with colored wraps (a la Dan Flavin / Robert Irwin), gelato names that play off different types of fabric, and pipe structures that mimic dry cleaning hanging racks, this space playfully reinvents what it means to go “pick up something at the dry cleaners.”

An's Dry Cleaning has been voted one of the best ice cream parlors in America by USA Today & Thrillist, one of the top 5 reasons to visit San Diego by Forbes, the best gelato in San Diego by San Diego Magazine & Modern Luxury, one of the most unique ice cream shops in the United States by Lonely Planet, and selected as one of the 30 most anticipated restaurant openings of 2018 nationwide by Zagat.