Take me out to the ballgame
Seattle Mariners
Restaurant, Brewery and Event Hall Branding & Signage
With the MLB All-Star game coming to Seattle in summer 2023, the Seattle Mariners began renovating a well-loved dining and socializing destination adjacent to the stadium — the former Pyramid Alehouse. As part of a master plan to redevelop the entire block, they started with a bar & grill with adjoining brewery and beer garden.
Turnstyle helped the Mariners determine the branding and naming strategy for the whole development, and then developed names for the overall project and several of its constituent parts. This development — now known as The Boxyard — contains Hatback Bar & Grille, the Victory Hall event venue, an expansive outdoor beer garden, and — arguably the most unique and interesting component of the development — the Steelheads Alley brewery that was conceived as an homage to Seattle's eponymous Negro league team.
Steelheads Alley
The Steelheads were a Negro League baseball team that played briefly in Seattle in the 1940s, and the Mariners built this facility as a nod to that heritage. It’s also an homage to under-represented and under-appreciated sports leagues, players and teams of all stripes. While very little documentation of the Seattle Steelheads’ graphic identity persists, the diamond-S ballcap treatment shown here is one of the rare exceptions. Turnstyle’s graphic identity for the brewery drew inspiration from this classic symbol, as well as other typography and imagery from the era.
Spotlight on Black-Owned Businesses
The Steelheads Alley taproom features beer brewed by Seattle-based, Black-owned Metiér Brewing. Hung on the walls are images and memorabilia related to the Seattle Steelheads Negro league team, and also other local BIPOC teams and players. One wall is covered by a beautiful mural by local artist (and friend of Turnstyle!) Damon Brown.
Hatback Bar & Grille
The main restaurant at the Boxyard is Hatback Bar & Grille, a sports bar loaded with big-screen TVs and serving wood-fired pizza and traditional pub fare. The name, logo and visual system are inspired by the 80’s-era Mariners, with their signature yellow & blue color palette, plus the backwards hat of legendary Mariner Ken Griffey, Jr.
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