Orange Lunch Box, Houston

Ali Bahramian wanted to combine the casual atmosphere and quick service of a coffee shop, a diner, and a fast-food eatery, so he decided to start his own from scratch. He developed his own menu built on sandwich, salad, and soup recipes he created himself, enlisted the help of his architect wife Mariam to design a space, and selected soothing jazz and blues music as a backdrop for his eatery.

Within the fully realized Orange Lunch Box, Ali and his staff bake fresh sandwich bread in-house each day and chocolate-chip cookies each hour to pair with cups of coffee. The culinary crew serves salads and sandwiches topped with a range of meats and cheeses, Italian-inspired spreads, and local produce. Orange Lunch Box's interior eschews the presence of television and instead captures diners' attention with a color palette of warm orange, cool green, and room-temperature purple.