How did Matey balance spontaneity with system in Pizza Grace’s brand?

On the cobblestones of Morris Avenue in downtown Birmingham, Pizza Grace occupies a space that feels both discovered and familiar. The restaurant first opened in 2022 and earned James Beard Award recognition the following year as a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant. In 2025, Ryan and Geri-Martha O’Hara, the hospitality duo behind Birmingham’s Big Spoon Creamery, purchased the restaurant with plans to deepen the experience through cosy interiors, seasonal desserts and a wine programme developed with Golden Age Wine. To match this evolution, they brought in Birmingham-based creative studio Matey to craft positioning and a complete visual identity that would distinguish Pizza Grace in a city with no shortage of pizza options. Matey positioned the restaurant as downtown Birmingham’s tucked-away neighbourhood pizzeria, a descriptor that carries deliberate weight. The restaurant centres on a 20-year-old sourdough starter affectionately named Frank, locally sourced ingredients, and thoughtfully crafted desserts that balance familiarity with something more considered. The positioning language emphasises both quality and comfort, inviting locals and visitors to gather over appetisers, dinner or simply dessert and wine. The visual identity emerged from a desire to mirror the restaurant’s approach to craft. At its centre sits a hand-drawn script logotype and the Pizza Dove mark, both organic in execution and deliberate in their imperfection. “The branding system mirrors the tactile, handmade nature of the handmade pizza – those delicious burnt air bubbles and gooey cheese,” explains Josh Carnley, Co-founder & Creative Director of Matey. “Imperfections are what make it perfect.”