People often ask me if I take restaurant drawing requests. The answer is yes! And why do people want to commission a drawing of a restaurant? The short answer is: it’s rarely about the restaurant itself. It’s about what happened there: who you were with, what it meant, and why it still matters.
Over the years, I’ve heard from people all over the country (and beyond). And, while every story is different, certain patterns keep showing up.
Here’s what some of my customers had to say about why they requested a hand-drawn restaurant print from me.
Sometimes it starts with a single night that changes everything.
“It is a restaurant called Soda Club in NYC (East Village). It’s where I met my now girlfriend on a blind first date. I’d be interested in commissioning a drawing for our one-year anniversary.”
There’s something about first-date restaurants that sticks with people. Not necessarily because of the food (though that helps), but because of the uncertainty of the moment. The anticipation. The feeling that something might begin here.
When someone commissions one of these drawings, it’s usually not about recreating the building perfectly. It’s about marking the exact place where their story shifted direction.
Some of the most meaningful commissions come from places that are gone.
“This now-closed restaurant was the center of our life for a really incredible two-year period in Cleveland. The restaurant is now a wedding dress shop, but it truly was our community center for two years. We met so many friends there and it was one of those magical, life changing spots for us.”
Restaurants close. Cities change. Spaces get repurposed.
But the role those places played in someone’s life doesn’t disappear with the lease.
In those cases, the drawing becomes something closer to preservation. Not in a formal, historical sense, but in a personal one. A way to say: this mattered, and it still does.
New York has a way of lingering with people long after they’ve left it.
“We live in Daphne, Alabama, and I worked in NYC 56 years ago and became a big Yankee fan. We come to the city a couple of times a year and always have lunch at E.A.T. We already have a special place on a kitchen wall for our special drawing by John.”
I hear versions of this story all the time. People move away, but certain places remain fixed in their memory. Restaurants they return to when they visit, or spots that represent a version of their life they still feel connected to.
A hand-drawn restaurant print becomes a way to keep that connection visible. Something that sits in the kitchen or living room and quietly reminds them of a different time, a different version of themselves. 
A lot of commissions start as gifts. But not the kind you pick up at the last minute.
“My daughter saw John on Instagram and knew we would love his prints. She gave us Arturo's for Xmas 2023 and the original Nocello for Xmas 2024. I am hooked! What a fabulous reminder of business lunches for a man retiring after 50 years in his Manhattan offices.”
“I will take you up on the offer for the first-signed print for Barking Dog... My sister and I lived across the street from there for years and it was a beloved staple. Will make a great gift.”
The best presents tend to do one thing well: they show that the gift giver was paying attention. Not just to what you like, but to where you’ve been, and what those places meant to you.
A restaurant drawing can hold years of routine inside it. Lunches, celebrations, habits, small rituals that don’t seem important until you try to describe your life without them.
Not every commission is tied to a major milestone. Sometimes it’s just about a place that never really left you.
“I bought L'Express (another favorite of ours, still drool when I recall their chicken paillard). There are others I have my eye on: Pastis, La Bonne Soup, Guastavino's, China Grill. Such a great idea for a series. These establishments left indelible impressions on me and bring back great memories.”
“My husband grew up on the UES and Papaya King is his most treasured spot, always a required stop when within (what he considered) a reasonable detour distance.”
“There are several places in NYC special to the early days of my relationship with my husband. We met at Columbia, so I immediately checked to see if Tom's on the UWS was there. It's where we had our first date!”
These are the places that don’t need an occasion. They just exist as part of someone’s personal map of the city.
When I draw them, I’m drawing so much more than a storefront. I’m drawing something that’s already layered with meaning. And it’s such an honor to turn these commissions into someone’s favorite art piece in their home. If you would like to request a hand drawn restaurant of a place that means something to you, reach out to submit a request.
