It all started with a barstool.

Excerpt from Editorial Review:

When Sessions Public owner Abel Kaase first approached the hot hospitality designer Michael Soriano to consult on the look and feel of his new place, Soriano wasn’t sure about taking on another project. The award-winning designer of such eye-catching San Diego spaces as The Pearl Hotel, Vin de Syrah, and Analog Music and Burger Bar already had a lot on his plate.

Kaase had a vision of a comfortable space with clean lines, furnished with reclaimed items that could be re-purposed while retaining their patina and personality. His deep involvement in the community and his resourcefulness in finding products and materials were being called into play as he gathered inspiration and resources. Soriano’s interest was piqued. Then Kaase showed him a sample barstool, little knowing it would seal the deal.

Kaase stumbled across the vintage barstools, which date from the 1930s, in an antique store in Detroit, and had the dealer track down the rest of the set from a woman outside the city. The spare design and weathered materials of the barstools inspired Kaase’s vision for the look and feel of the whole restaurant. “I just thought, anyone who could come up with this barstool for his place has an idea I find interesting, and I want to be a part of it,” said Soriano. Another draw for Soriano was the involvement of Kaase’s business partner, Tomas Ryan, an architect whose Core Design Studio created the schematic vision for Sessions Public.

Soriano also saw Sessions Public as an opportunity to work with Sarah Watlington, a young designer who had transformed Parallel 33 – a Soriano-designed space – into its new incarnation, as Wellington. Soriano was impressed with Watlington’s eye for structure and proportion and thought combining it with his sense of whimsy would work well for Kaase’s space.

With a fast-track schedule of less than seven weeks, Soriano and Watlington threw themselves into the Sessions Public concept with gusto. “It’s about respecting the concept, respecting the food, and making it a place people like to be,” said Soriano. Sessions Public now boasts warm cream paint and high-gloss construction orange Copenhagen chairs; upholstery cladded walls; reclaimed wood tables, shelves, and light fixtures (with Edison bulbs; a textured concrete floor with echoes of the tiles beneath; reclaimed décor items such as windows, shutters, and a collage of pages from an antique encyclopedia; and a large blackboard on which guests can add their doodles and comments. Whimsical touches include taxidermied ducks and dozens of candles flickering in jam jars. Your bill might be brought on a piece of wood from a salvaged dresser drawer, with the handle still attached. The space is comfortable and welcoming, yet still holds some unexpected touches of delight.

And it was all launched from a single vintage barstool.

Photos 2, 5, 10, and 11 courtesy of Lynn Chyi (epicdinner.com).

Voted one of San Diego's Top 5 New Restaurants of 2010 by Haute Living luxury lifestyle magazine.