Cannonball
Identity/Creative Direction/Brand Development//Web
Cannonball is a restaurant located in South Pasadena that was in need of a brand identity that stayed true to the roots of where they chose to open their first location.
“One of northeast Los Angeles’s most charming neighborhoods, South Pasadena, welcomed Cannonball on May 2, a new restaurant from Hippo chef Matt Molina and operating partner Joe Capella. The sprawling multi-floor space, previously occupied by Piccolo, has original brick walls, an extensive vintage wine list, cocktails, and local seasonal produce. It’s potentially the most exciting new restaurant to open in the area in a few years (its most recent was 2023’s debut of Katsu Jin on Fair Oaks). With Molina and Capella steering the ship, South Pasadena has a grown-up restaurant for drinks and classic American dishes, coupled with reasonable prices.
Molina, who won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Pacific of 2012 for his work at Osteria Mozza, has had a strong run with Capella at Arts District’s Everson Royce Bar (opened in 2015), which is also co-founded and co-owned by Randy Clement and April Langford (Good Neighbor Bar, Silver Lake Wine). The foursome opened Hippo in Highland Park and Triple Beam alongside Nancy Silverton in 2018, cementing their place in northeast LA’s dining scene. Molina’s relationships with farmers at the South Pasadena Farmers Market, a main source for Hippo’s produce, led him and Capella to check out the former Piccolo. The former Venice-based Italian restaurant had expanded to Mission Street in 2022 but closed just a year later in spring 2023 (it still operates in Santa Monica). Cannonball is Capella and Molina’s first collaboration, opened without involvement from Clement, Langford, and Silverton.”
illustrations by Yuri Shim
article by Eater LA
photos of restaurant by Wonho Frank Lee (Eater LA)
