There are the familiar little condiment caddies on the tables in Bella Art Works . But don’t expect to find salt and pepper shakers or a ketchup squeeze bottle.
However, if you need an artist brush or paints, those caddies may be where inspiration begins.
“Our tables are available for eating or for painting,” remarked Talya Nicholson, owner of Bella Art Works, a “creative cafe” in downtown Yreka where customers come in for diner fare like sandwiches, ice cream and drinks, but also for working with ceramics or glass.
Think of Bella Art Works as a mashup of an art studio and a restaurant. “We’re a walk-in studio. You don’t need an appointment. You don’t need to sign up for a class,” said Nicholson.
Customers choose a piece of unfinished ceramic off the shelf and set about painting it.
The prices at Bella Arts Works are all inclusive to cover the paint, glazes, firing and other incidentals associated with making ceramics. The studio has various tools, brushes, stamps, stencils and other tricks of the trade available for customers to use.
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“Most people just come in and paint and we have a variety of colors,” said Nicholson, one recent morning before the shop opened. It occupies a ground floor space in the historic I.O.O.F. building on Miner Street.
“We try to make it as self-serve as possible. But we are here to assist,” said Nicholson, who has owned the business since 2016.
Previous iterations operated across the street where Black Bart’s Grill is now located. In that location, the focus was only ceramics and glass, without the food service.
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Bella Art Works' current location had also once been home the Yreka Drug Store, which had included a soda fountain and lunch counter. Longtime residents prompted Nicholson to introduce the kinds of sandwiches and other foods they recalled. One of those sandwiches — which Nicholson has heard was a type of pimento cheese sandwich simply called the “gooey” — became a sort of jumping off point for the wide range of grilled cheese sandwiches that now are offered.
Sandwiches also seemed to be a good fit since Nicholson wanted to avoid a costly renovation, since the building has no commercial kitchen or exhaust hood. Grilled cheese sandwiches — and all of their endless iterations — were doable.
These days, the restaurant features a monthly grilled cheese sandwich special, as well as salads. Sandwiches, which get fun names like the Batman (bacon, avocado, tomato, provolone and cheddar) or TMNT (pepperoni, garlic provolone, olives and pizza sauce) are $9.50. Salads are $10.
The menu says sandwiches are toasted with mayonaise for "optimum crunch," although butter can be substituted by request.
“We get to be a little creative and offer something off of the menu,” said Nicholson.
The June special was the Turkey Tango Melt, made with roasted turkey, cream cheese, Havarti cheese and Goat Horn Peppers. Speciality sandwiches are $11.
June’s sweet sandwich, known as the Fluffer Butter, is Biscoff Cookie butter, banana and marshmallow, toasted on sourdough and drizzled with caramel sauce.
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The diner portion of Bella Art Works occupies bout half the space, with other half dedicated to the art studio.
The ceramic pieces are in a state known as bisque. They've had an initial firing and are ready to be painted. Prices are about $10 to $50, depending on the piece and are inclusive of all materials, firing and the final finishing each ceramic requires.
“There’s so much that goes into this,” Nicholson remarked, walking into the glazing room. “We touch things like 10 times before you get them back,” she added, lifting a painted ceramic figure from the shelf and dipping it into a vat of clear glaze.
“You’ve got to dip. You’ve got to shake for a good amount of time. It’s not a quick kind of thing,” Nicholson said while demonstrating. After that half of the piece dried, Nicholson dipped the other half into the glaze, "being mindful not overlap my lines.”
The pieces then have to be carefully placed in the kiln. Once the ceramics come out of the kiln, sharp edges need to be filed down and made ready for pickup. Generally, a full week of ceramics are fired at once.
To build business and continue to create a customer following, the studio partners with other businesses like the Rex Club next door and holds classes. There also are “themed events” where an entire evening is created around the theme of popular television series including “Yellowstone” and “Bridgerton." These events offer food and giveaways while allowing attendees to develop ceramics designs with the show's theme in mind.
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Running an art studio that doubles as a restaurant is not without its challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic was especially difficult for a business that is centered around people gathering and creating. To get through the crisis, Bella Art Works came up with to-go kits, subscription boxes, an online store and other creative options.
“At every moment when I felt, 'this is it, we’re not going to have the money to continue,' something would happen,” reflected Nicholson, as she unexpectedly found herself wiping away tears while recalling those difficult days, which stretched into weeks and then months.
“It’s amazing how much a space can take on the energy of the people in it. And that’s what was sad,” said Nicholson. “I would be in here working and it would feel so sad. The energy was gone."
Today, the energy is back.
Bella Art Works was in full swing during the recent Golden City Days downtown festival event. More classes, sandwiches and other events are planned.
“We call it 'creative cafe' because we try to get creative with our food. And we try to get creative with the art,” Nicholson said.
What to know if you go
- Cost: Sandwiches — $9.50; Salads — $10; Ice Cream — $2 to $10.50
- Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday and Monday, Noon to 4 p.m.
- Where: Bella Art Works; 117 W. Miner St.; Yreka
- Phone: 530-842-5411
- Website: www.bellaartworks.net
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: This charming downtown restaurant doubles as a DIY art studio
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