Restaurant Baba Nahm

A Grab + Go Middle Eastern Food Place

Naming
Brand Design
Illustration
Exhibit Design
Hand-painted Mural
Product Curation
Print & Digital Design
Environmental Design
Apparel Design

Baba Nahm opened in 2017 inside Asheville's historic Grove Arcade, carving out a niche as a fast-casual Middle Eastern spot built on whole, minimally processed ingredients. The menu centered on vibrant pita wraps, falafel, shawarma, and Mediterranean staples that matched Asheville's appetite for fresh flavor without the fuss. Co-founded by Iranian chef Reza Setayesh of Rezaz fame, the original location quickly became a local favorite. Bold street-food style and warm, unfussy energy drew a steady following, proving quick service and thoughtful cooking can coexist. A downtown staple with personality, craft, and heart.

THE CHALLENGE
Pair healthy eating with grab-and-go speed. That was the baseline. But the real challenge went deeper. Baba Nahm needed to live in two modes at once: fast enough for the downtown Asheville lunch crowd ducking in for a falafel wrap, and immersive enough to make you feel like you'd stepped into a Middle Eastern bazaar. The space inside the historic Grove Arcade was small, roughly 1,400 square feet. Every design decision had to work twice as hard. The brand needed to communicate flavor, culture, energy and speed before a customer even looked at the menu.
THE PROCESS
In collaboration with Futures Bright, we started at the very inception of the idea and worked alongside chef Reza Setayesh to build everything from the ground up. Reza, an Iranian-born restaurateur known for Rezaz and Piazza, brought decades of culinary vision and deep cultural roots. We began with naming the space, landing on Baba Nahm, a playful nod that sounds like comfort and appetite all at once. From there we developed an entire brand system that worked across the physical space, print, web and packaging. Every surface was a chance to tell the story. Farsi script, vinyl murals, patterning, color, all layered with purpose.
THE SOLUTION
What landed was a total mesh of Middle Eastern patterning, color and Farsi woven into every touchpoint. A characterized pita became the brand's personality, communicating the whole experience in a single, playful mark. The identity carried across menus, apparel, environmental graphics and packaging with a warmth that matched the food. Inside the Grove Arcade, the space became a full sensory experience. Bright, bold and unmistakably its own thing. Baba Nahm quickly became a downtown Asheville staple, drawing loyal locals who came back multiple times a week. The brand held so well that when the restaurant reopened in a larger location on Biltmore Avenue, it carried right over.