For decades, Rigoni’s Bistro was an essential stop for Adelaide’s powerbrokers – a CBD restaurant where the influential would sit ostentatiously in the window, elevated a foot or so above street level, taking meetings that were meant to be seen.
When Graham Charbonneau and Dave Bickmore of Studio Gram entered the building in 2020, it had fallen far. A six-pack of beer sat on the bar, menus and cutlery lay dusty on the tables. The restaurant had been abandoned.
Taken over by new operators keen to install a completely fresh hospitality concept, the design brief came with historical baggage. The savvy client understood
