THE STORY BEHIND THE SPACE
Hattori Nori: Restaurant Branding, Interior Design & Project Management in Nashville
Company: Fulcrum / Purpl. / NDA Foods
Role: Brand Strategy, Creative Direction, Logo & Visual Identity, Messaging, Interior Design, Guest Experience, Vendor Coordination & Project Management
Project Lead: Sara Balcazar-Greene
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Project Type: Restaurant Branding, Hospitality Interior Design, Restaurant Project Management, Signage, Menu Design & Opening Support
Project Summary
Hattori Nori is a Nashville handroll bar brought to life through restaurant branding, logo and visual identity, messaging, interior design, signage, menu design, furniture selection, tableware and glassware direction, décor, materials, project coordination, and opening strategy led by Sara Balcazar-Greene with Fulcrum / Purpl.
Sara helped translate the Hattori Nori concept into a cohesive hospitality experience — shaping the visual identity, interior atmosphere, guest touchpoints, materials, furniture, signage, menus, tableware, glassware, vendor coordination, and final opening details.
The goal was to create a restaurant that felt intimate, refined, memorable, and distinct within Nashville’s hospitality landscape.
The Challenge
Hattori Nori had a clear concept and name, but it needed a complete brand world and interior experience to bring the restaurant to life.
The space itself was small, which meant every detail had to work harder. The logo, messaging, signage, millwork, materials, furniture, lighting, tableware, glassware, menu, seating layout, guest flow, décor, and opening strategy all needed to feel connected.
The challenge was not only to create a strong restaurant brand identity, but to translate that identity into a physical hospitality environment with clarity, restraint, and edge.
Sara Balcazar-Greene’s role was to bring these pieces together through brand strategy, creative direction, interior design, project coordination, and opening support.
Scope of Work
Fulcrum / Purpl’s role, led by Sara Balcazar-Greene, included:
- Restaurant brand strategy
- Logo and visual identity direction
- Brand messaging and tone
- Interior design concept
- Materials direction
- Furniture selection and coordination
- Tableware and glassware direction
- Décor and guest-facing detail selection
- Signage strategy, placement, and coordination
- Menu design direction and custom illustration development
- Millwork and custom buildout coordination
- Bar seating layout and guest flow planning
- Lighting direction and visual atmosphere
- Vendor, installer, general contractor, and client communication
- Project management and punch-list coordination
- Barstool, purse hook, and seating-layout coordination
- Opening timeline support
- Media night strategy
- Influencer night planning
- Grand opening and ribbon cutting strategy
This was a concept-to-opening project, not simply a logo, menu, or interior styling assignment. Sara’s role connected strategy, branding, interior design, execution, and guest experience.
Interior Design & Brand Environment
Sara Balcazar-Greene led the interior design vision for Hattori Nori, translating the brand into a physical restaurant experience.
The interior was designed to feel warm, intimate, refined, and memorable within a compact footprint. Every detail was considered as part of the guest experience — from the bar layout and seating rhythm to the materials, lighting, tableware, glassware, décor, signage, and printed menus.
The design avoided overly literal or themed references. Instead, it focused on restraint, texture, warmth, and edge. Slatted wood, soft neutrals, layered lighting, dimensional signage, tableware, and carefully selected guest-facing details helped create a space that felt elevated without feeling stiff.
Because Hattori Nori centers around handrolls, the counter experience became the anchor. The interior design needed to support that ritual: guests seated close to the craft, watching each roll prepared and served with intention.
Branding, Messaging & Visual Identity
Sara Balcazar-Greene helped shape the brand expression around it through logo direction, visual identity, messaging, signage, menu design, and guest touchpoints.
The brand needed to feel refined but not predictable, elegant but with edge, and minimal without becoming forgettable. The identity was developed to work across the physical space, printed materials, signage, menus, uniforms, social content, and future brand extensions.
The result was a visual system that felt embedded into the restaurant environment rather than applied after the fact.
Signage, Materials & Physical Execution
A major part of the project involved translating the Hattori Nori brand into the physical space.
Sara Balcazar-Greene supported the design and coordination of interior signage, backlit brand moments, wood paneling, column wraps, bar details, under-counter lighting, materials, access panels, and other custom buildout elements.
The signage and millwork were treated as part of the brand architecture. The slatted walls, illuminated logo moments, dimensional lettering, menu pieces, and material palette all helped make the identity feel present throughout the restaurant.
This required hands-on coordination across vendors, installers, the general contractor, signage partners, furniture vendors, and the client team.
Guest Experience Details
The Hattori Nori experience extended beyond the logo and interior shell. Sara Balcazar-Greene also guided the details guests would physically touch, see, and remember.
This included tableware, glassware, menu paper, seating layout, purse hooks, barstool placement, signage visibility, lighting feel, and the overall rhythm of the bar.
These details mattered because the restaurant was designed around a close, intimate handroll experience. Every object and interaction needed to feel intentional.
Project Management & Opening Support
Beyond branding and interior design, the project required hands-on coordination to move from concept to opening.
Sara Balcazar-Greene supported communication across the client, general contractor, installers, signage vendors, millwork team, furniture vendors, and opening partners.
This included tracking installation details, coordinating signage and lighting needs, reviewing barstool placement, coordinating purse hook layout, supporting menu production, managing punch-list items, following up on vendor issues, and helping align the team around opening deadlines.
Sara also helped guide the opening strategy, including soft opening timing, media night, influencer night, grand opening, and ribbon cutting recommendations.
The Result
Hattori Nori became more than a restaurant buildout. It became a fully considered hospitality brand environment.
The final direction brought together restaurant branding, logo and visual identity, messaging, interior design, signage, materials, furniture, tableware, glassware, menu design, vendor coordination, project management, and opening strategy into one cohesive experience.
The result is a Nashville handroll bar that feels intimate, elevated, and distinct — a space with restraint, attitude, and a clear point of view.
For Sara Balcazar-Greene, Fulcrum, and Purpl, the work was about connecting strategy to the physical world. Every decision, from the logo and signage to the bar layout, materials, tableware, lighting, printed menu, seating details, and opening plan, was made to support the same goal: to create a restaurant people could feel, remember, and recognize as its own.