Café 41 - USS Midway

This new Café 41 replaces and expands the area of the old Fantail Cafe located on the Hangar Bay of the USS Midway aircraft carrier.  Our team was tasked with creating a design that kept as much of the existing ship construction as possible while inserting a full commercial kitchen and efficient customer serving and circulation area.

Additionally, the mandate was to provide a design that respected the existing ambiance of the ship. The café is designed to serve the USS Midway Museum on busy days when there is often in excess of 5,000 guests

The project had many existing challenges to overcome. Rust abatement, “surgical” demolition and new construction in a historic ship to accommodate modern utilities as well as Health Department requirements needed to take place.

Additionally, complex existing construction including low overhead structure, two existing decks above the café, and many utilities both old and new required extensive efforts maneuver through and around.

The result is a new café that satisfies hungry guests while adding another layer to the ship’s history.

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