SEATTLE, WA.- The café at the Frye Art Museum will reopen in October 2023 as MariPili at Café Frieda. Frye Executive Director Jamilee Lacy and MariPili’s Chef Grayson Corrales have collaborated on an exciting new concept that will offer Frye patrons and Seattle diners an elevated and unique yet accessible culinary experience within the museum’s visually refreshed café space.

The museum’s café has been closed since March 2020, originally a response to the Covid-19 stay-at-home orders. The café has remained closed while the museum focused on reopening and rebuilding core programing in the wake of the pandemic. Upon her arrival at the Frye in March 2023, Executive Director Jamilee Lacy expedited the search for a new café proprietor who would both exemplify the strength of Seattle’s culinary scene and align with the museum’s goal to be a destination for cutting-edge creative experiences. With her much-lauded fresh takes on traditional Galician cuisine, Chef Corrales quickly emerged as the ideal partner.

In addition to a full espresso bar, the café will serve Estrella Galicia beer, Washington and Spanish wines by the glass, and pitchers of sangria. The menu, including both gluten-free and vegan options, focuses on small plates and lunchtime staples such as sandwiches and salads, but reimagined through MariPili’s distinctive flavor profile—from classic Patatas Bravas to a “CLT” sandwich that swaps griddled chorizo for bacon. A MariPili favorite, Spanish style churros with chocolate dipping sauce will anchor the dessert offerings.

Lacy has commissioned Print Club Ltd., an artist-run print and design atelier, to revitalize the interior for MariPili at Café Frieda. Key design elements include graphic ceiling murals and custom-printed textiles, inspired by café namesake Frieda Sondland’s history as a dressmaker. The imagery of these design elements riff off the graphic patterns of Sargadelos pottery as well as staples of Galician and Pacific Northwestern cuisines, and cleverly mingle with nods to the Frye’s modernist architecture and founding collection. The hand-painted ceiling murals feature intricate blue and white abstractions that loosely resemble swirls of fishing nets—an homage to the coastal identity that unites Seattle and Galicia.

The café will also feature a new brand identity developed by the Frye’s in-house design team that expands on Print Club’s commission to elegantly emphasize a visual connection between the original MariPili and the Frye Art Museum’s distinctive identity (recently designed in collaboration with Polymode Studio).

We proudly acknowledge that MariPili at Café Frieda is a woman-led enterprise. The name honors a trio of matriarchs: Chef Corrales’ aunt for whom MariPili is named, her abuela who taught her to cook, and Frieda Sondland, a passionate supporter of the Frye Art Museum whose incredible biography can be found on the café’s website.

Reopening is planned for mid-October. The café will match the museum’s operating hours, currently Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm.