St Frances Bar & Eatery Branding
St. Paul’s beloved reborn. Saint Francis Bar & Eatery comes wrapped in a visual liturgy, one that leans on the sacred, flirts with the heretical, and lands somewhere between mid-century Catholic kitsch and cocktail lounge debauchery. Studio MPLS is behind this divine intervention. And it’s not just a rebrand — it’s a resurrection.
Let’s talk type first. The logotype is an altar call of contrast. Sharp serifs pierce through soft curls, with gothic undertones that whisper Gregorian chants in one breath and downtown hotel lobby in the next. That “S” — voluptuous and holy — becomes both scripture and signature. The crossbar on the “t” floats freely, a quiet nod to untethered tradition.
And then the menu suite — hallelujah. Each piece feels torn from the vestry, then collaged with a wink. Archangel illustrations hover beside drink lists. Red-heeled cherubs clasp hands in prayer over plates of pork quesadilla. These visual flourishes give the work its tension: reverent but irreverent, sacred but sardonic.
The color palette holds back — creams, pinks, browns, washed reds — allowing the artwork to rise like stained glass from soft-lit paper. Gold foil ink stamps out the name “Saint Francis” in circles around angelic hands, a branding halo of sorts. Typography elsewhere leans quiet and elegant, allowing the voice to stay elevated but not aloof.
The icon mark deserves its own sermon. A symmetrical emblem of hearts and stars, etched like embroidery on an altar cloth. It’s contemporary and eternal. One-part folklore, one-part liturgical geometry.
What’s especially working here is the restraint. Studio MPLS could have gone full chapel-core. Instead, they let the moments breathe. Negative space is treated with the same reverence as the illustrations. The layouts feel less like menus and more like gospel tracts for the hungry and curious.
Could the concept tip too far into ornamentation for a less confident brand? Sure. But Saint Francis isn’t timid. It knows its audience: diners who relish a little ritual with their rosé, who crave both Eucharist and espresso martinis. The branding doesn’t just serve the space — it becomes part of the mythology.
