For the past few months, Venice residents who still embrace fresh-baked golden loaves have been waiting for the doors of Paul Hibler’s Superba Food + Bread to open. They’ve caught glimpses of the interiors created by Design Bitches and dreamed of sweet or savory pastries, but a lingering question has remained: What will be emblazoned on the staff T-shirts?

So Hibler tapped his close friend and business partner, Los Angeles-based designer, marketer, and streetwear impresario Darren Romanelli (also known as Dr. Romanelli or DrX) of StreetVirus, for help. Romanelli is known for diagnosing brands like Coca-Cola, Converse, and Disney, then devising prescriptions or performing surgery on the lines’ marketing programs. “My relationship with Paul is synergistic, Romanelli says, “We’re essentially interested in the same creative process—he designs food, and I design clothes.” The two decided to use Romanelli’s marketing platform Blank You Very Much (BYVM) to seek potential Superba Food + Bread T-shirt logos in an online design contest. BYVM is a marketing platform that connects brands with over 70,000 registered designers worldwide, allowing professional and amateur designers alike to download a given brand’s assets and design its logo for a well-deserved monetary reward and bragging rights as the line’s official logo artist.

This isn’t the first time the two have collaborated. Romanelli and Hibler devised The Pancake Epidemic, a space that serves as an office, boutique, agency, and pancake house curated by Hibler’s American Gonzo Food Corporation. It’s a meeting place for creatives who also love Melrose’s Civil Coffee. “A great cup of coffee brews great ideas,” says Romanelli.

Romanelli has been impressed with contest entries in the Superba Food + Bread logo contest. “You’d be surprised—you log onto the site, and some kid from Boise, Idaho blows you away with an epic design,” he says. Indeed, the judge’s choice winner is graphic designer Sonia Ardelia whose profile lists her location as Surabaya, Indonesia. Her sketch is a cornucopia of friendly food items shaded by fluffy croissant clouds and french-fry skyscrapers. Romanelli hopes this contemporary style of advertising will inspire owners to seek out the opinions of prospective customers as they brand new projects. “The future of our industry, of our culture is this idea of listening to what people want,” Romanelli says. Hibler says he was listening to what locals wanted as he shaped the concept for Superba Food + Bread. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, the spin-off of Venice’s Superba Snack Bar will focus on honest food, fresh bread, pastries, and what he calls “disruptive versions of traditional dishes.” But most importantly, Hibler says he wants to fortify “a commitment to the idea of a communal gathering.” After masterminding various eateries and meeting places, Hibler has high hopes for his new venture. “I’m trying to be sure I’m getting it right this time,” he says.

By Ellie June

 

Pictured: The interiors of Superba Food + Bread in Venice.
Photo by Mor Weizman

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