Worldwide Architect Stephen Francis Jones

Becoming successful is one journey – remaining successful is another.  To continue to be the best in your field, you have to respond to a whole range of challenges that you never even considered on your way to the top.

Imagine what recently confronted architect Stephen Francis Jones of SFJones Architects.  For nearly two decades, he has been designing restaurants, hotels and spas all around the world, from Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills to the retro chain Lucky Strike Lanes to the wildly successful MB Post in Manhattan Beach to Nairobi Java House franchises and a new artisan pizza concept (360 Degrees) in Kenya.  But two of his newest endeavors reflect just how challenging each new client can be.  Both new restaurants – the Redwood Grille and Del Frisco’s Grille - are located just a few blocks from each other near the Santa Monica Third Street Promenade and pier; both feature similar menus and cuisine; both are occupying prime locations with great views.  Both have experienced, committed owners passionate about bringing their vision to the West Coast – and yet the results are strikingly different. 

“I see my role as adapting to the style of each client, whether they are an established group or starting a new concept,” begins Jones.  Thus, for the Redwood Grille, a new establishment featuring classic American cuisine and 8500 square feet of seating space, Jones brought on a top graphic designer to help develop the new endeavor’s brand and image and incorporate it into the redesigned interior space atop the third level of the Santa Monica Place Mall.  “The biggest challenge was to work with the bones of what was there and to create an engaging design,” says Jones, who moved the bar to orient it toward the entry and created a stunning new 2500 square foot patio space that opens onto the Promenade.  “In every restaurant, I try to create multiple intimate spaces that relate to the whole.  I like creating environments that are unique within the restaurant, but still connect.”  Subtly evoking the majesty of a redwood forest, the space offers some private spaces that encourage intimacy as well as a large communal table fashioned from a twenty-two foot redwood tree.  With a tailored, stylish décor, the restaurant both looks and feels like the personality of the client – sophisticated, serious, and passionate.

But only a few blocks away, the new Del Frisco’s Grille offers a different vibe.  The menu offers creative twists on classic American comfort food, and that combination of stylish and relaxed is reflected in the decor – brilliant colors that suggest both memorable good times and surprising possibilities, and, where Jones explains, “the bar scene is just as important as the dining scene.”  The previous occupant for some reason ignored perhaps the property’s best feature – windows that open up to a 180 degree view of the beach, the pier, and the Pacific Ocean beyond.  Jones immediately addressed this by making the 10-foot high windows and the picture postcard view a central feature of the space.  “Del Frisco’s is more about fun, so we got to use color a lot more.  Furthermore, since this was a chain that had been developed in other cities, I could take some of those elements that worked at other locations and bring them to here.”  As with Redwood Grille, Del Frisco’s Grille is marked by Jones’ technique of creating distinct spaces that each capture the central concept of the dining experience.  “We have an open air patio that engages the streets and the corner by the pier,” he points out.  “And another patio space that is more like a private lounge, while the bar is high-energy, and the general seating is right in front of the exhibition kitchen.”

Being able to adapt his working process to whatever each unique client demands is a key principal of Jones’ work ethic, as is establishing solid collaborative relationships with clients, contractors, and fellow designers who have active interest in each project.  “Greenleaf in Costa Mesa is another example of how different each job can be,” explains Jones.  “This is my third project with them, and every time we return to our main concept we keep fine tuning.”  Each new project provides a sensory challenge, as Jones is particularly attuned to issues of acoustics and takes pride in his ability to use various types of light to mold and color the space.

There’s also the practical considerations of time and space that can’t help but have an impact on how Jones works:  another current focus for him is completing work on the casual dining/coffee shops in Kenya, which has led to a new gig developing a chain of artisan pizzerias there.  While some challenges are practical – getting materials overseas, dealing with time zone differences, and lengthy travel concerns – others are more theoretical.  “There is some difficulty in learning the culture of the Kenyans and how they relate to concepts of design, but I’m still applying the same basic elements that I developed for my clients here.  It’s all about understanding the needs of the client and responding to them as they let you know what is and is not working.”

Jones is well-prepared for a successful career.  After studying architecture at the University of Florida, Jones got his Master's degree at UCLA.  He began his career in Boston, working with Jung/Brannen Associates designing high-rises.  The experience was valuable, as it taught him that his interests and strengths were in more personal venues.  "The scale of those projects was so large," Jones recalls, "you lost the sense of detail and a certain amount of control: you delegated tasks and moved on to the next project before you could see the last one to completion."  He wanted to work on a more intimate scale, taking a concept and making it real, overseeing each project to its end in a short period of time.

             After his first year at UCLA, he went to Tuscany: "I perfected my sketching abilities, studied Italian hilltown architecture, and fine-tuned my knowledge of architecture," he says.  While living in Europe, he worked for a year in Barcelona during the exciting buildup to the 1992 Olympics.  There, he worked with the internationally renowned firm, Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, where he was the designer on the Cagnes-sur-Mer mixed-use complex in France, and the Institutio de Mediteraneo in Barcelona.

             He began working for the famed L.A. firm Grinstein/Daniels while still at UCLA, and after completing his Master's degree, Jones spent a year in Miami rebuilding hurricane-damaged homes and then returned to Los Angeles to work on the design of a co-generation power plant in Sacramento.  Jones was given the opportunity to reinvigorate his passion for restaurant design when he was hired as the in-house architect at the Wolfgang Puck Food Company.  In 1996, he left the Wolfgang Puck Food Company to start his own firm, SFJones Architects.  Eager to continue his association with Jones, the famed chef and Barbara Lazaroff hired him to recreate Wolfgang Puck's most celebrated restaurant in its new Beverly Hills location.  Jones continued to work on Puck’s fine and casual dining restaurants all over the world.  He then went on to design Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood, a combination restaurant, bar, and bowling alley that quickly became a popular hipster hangout.  It was such a success that Jones was hired to create Lucky Strike alleys in Chicago, Toronto, Denver, St. Louis, Louisville, South Beach and Orange County.  The fresh concept of a retro bowling alley/lounge became fiercely popular nationwide: SFJones Architects was hired to design Big Al's, a bowling alley and sports bar in Vancouver, Washington, and Ashton Kutcher's Dolce Group hired Jones to design Ten Pin Alley in Atlanta.  "I've created an unexpected niche in stylish bowling alley architecture!" laughs Jones.

Rental shoes are not an essential feature on all of his projects, handled by a six-person team at the SF Jones Architecture offices, who altogether work on 12 to 15 projects a year.   "My favorite projects are the ones when the client comes to us with a well-defined idea of their concept," Jones explains.  "We interpret and enhance that idea, creating dynamic and imaginative results that resonate with our clients, fully realizing their innovative ambitions."

Jones’ client list is now second to none when it comes to some of the most respected and successful eateries on the west coast (and beyond).  That list now includes Jones’ most recent gigs for clients like Shoreline Restaurant on the coast in the northern Californian city Gualala; Lazy Dog Café in east Los Angeles; Toscanova in Calabasas; Simmzy’s in Long Beach; and four more Nairobi Java Houses in east Africa.  Up next are more assignments in east Africa, including new Java Houses in Uganda and Kenya; an artisan pizza chain in Kenya; a redesign/ rebranding of the famous La Brea Bakery; two new brewery concepts in Marina Del Rey and Long Beach; and Bourbon Steak, the new establishment for Michelin star chef Michael Mina in Glendale (for which Jones is collaborating with New York based firm Avorko).

It's no surprise that healthy restaurants and spas are part of Jones' portfolio.  Jones, a Manhattan Beach resident, is an avid cyclist and volleyball player; in fact it was his frequent playing of volleyball on his local beaches that connected him with restaurateur Chris Simms, which lead to developing vintage vogue M.B. Post for celebrated chef David LeFevre (formerly of The Water Grill in downtown Los Angeles).

             The married father of two (his wife, Stephanie Eyestone Jones, is owner of Matrix Environmental, an urban planning firm), Jones lives a carefully integrated life.  His mornings begin very early at the UCLA Aquatic Center, near his office in Marina del Rey.  An hour or more of sculling gives him time and tranquility to think through his day.  He says that someday he would love to design a boutique hotel or a resort, but he prefers, for now, to work on a scale he describes as, "manageable on an intimate level, so that I can give full attention to my clients and coworkers."

             "My ambitions go beyond architecture,” he explains.  "I like to live my life with the same passion that I bring to design.  I want to do work that feeds the spirit, not the ego."