Padeli's | WOW atelier

CLIENT

Frank, Chris, Leo and Marry Paulos

SERVICES

Branding | Interior Design

TYPOLOGY

Branded Environment, Fast Casual Restaurant

LOCATION | STATUS

Salt Lake City, Utah | Completed 2017

street greek in SLC

The Paulos Family, always looking for fresh ways to bring Greek flavors to the modern palate, turned to WOW Atelier for a bold new concept in the heart of Downtown Salt Lake City’s bustling business district. They didn’t want just another restaurant—they wanted something fast, vibrant, and true to their roots. WOW Atelier took inspiration from Greece’s lively food cart scene, merging it with the health-focused spirit of Mediterranean cuisine. The goal? To make it quick and easy for the next wave of Greek food lovers, a new generation of patrons seeking fresh, flavorful meals on the go.

This project reflects WOW Atelier’s knack for balancing culture and innovation, designing spaces that don’t just serve food but tell a story—one that echoes across oceans and time

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a modern authenticity

We stripped things down to their core—modern, raw, and humble. Nothing was overpolished or pretentious. Baltic birch for the tables and booths, polished concrete floors that speak of a space lived in and worked on. Murals? We didn’t commission fancy art; we spray-painted them right onto the walls, letting the street speak for itself.

The heartbeat of downtown culture, as we see it, lies in the arts—formal, informal, and especially the street art that thrives in the cracks and corners of the city. Street vendors, street food, street art—they’re all cut from the same rebellious cloth, and this restaurant had to echo that vibe. It’s not just a place to eat; it’s a place where counterculture lives and breathes. We built this space to celebrate the grit, color, and energy of street culture, right in the heart of downtown.

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engage the street

We wanted this space to feel like it was part of the street, not just a building on it. So, we worked with the local zoning folks—cut through the red tape, found a way to make the restaurant spill right out onto the sidewalk. It wasn’t enough to just serve “Street Greek” food; we needed the place to breathe the same air, to blur the lines between sidewalk and storefront. We didn’t want patrons to just walk to the restaurant, we wanted them to be in it before they even opened the door.

This is about engagement with the street, with the flow of life outside, making sure the space and the city merge as naturally as olive oil and lemon juice. It’s all part of the same flavor.

graffiti-style murals

For true authenticity, you have to celebrate the elements that thrive in street culture—whether it’s art, food, or the heartbeat of a city. To capture that pulse, you’ve got to know the best graffiti artists, the hidden gems of street food, the spots only the locals whisper about. It’s all connected, a tapestry woven by those in the know.

So when we set out to create the murals, we didn’t just hire any artist. We found someone who knows the streets like the back of their hand, someone who lives in the rhythm of this city. They took the ancient imagery of Greece—icons from a different time—and transformed it into something raw, fresh, and modern through the lens of street art. We believe this is how you make a space feel like it belongs, like it’s breathing the same air as the city it’s a part of.