The Yard, a concept store and restaurant hybrid, has opened its doors in Cape Town’s newly minted Silo District, adjacent to Thomas Heatherwick’s Zeitz MOCAA.

Named after the neighbouring dockyards, the space is housed inside a freshly developed building in the rapidly transforming neighbourhood. Zeitz MOCAA – a former grain silo turned contemporary art museum – only opened last month but it has already turned the area into a destination for art, design and dining.

Founder Abigail Bisogno, who is also behind Paarl design store The Trading Company at Spice Route, has curated The Yard’s homewares and jewellery. She has partnered with longtime friend and restaurateur GP Singh, who conceived the evolving menu integrating Indian, Asian and European dishes.

For Bisogno, the project began four years ago when Heatherwick unveiled his plans for Zeitz MOCAA at Cape Town’s Design Indaba. ‘It was probably the most relevant presentation I’d ever seen in terms of Cape Town from a design point of view,’ she explains.

Concrete and metal support beams have been left exposed inside The Yard, which features extensive glazing. Raw elements are refined by polished marble countertops, circular tan leather booths and artfully arranged lighting. The expansive, open-plan interior flows from restaurant to shop and has a large bar at its heart.

The Yard is a departure from Bisogno’s usual style, in deference to the industrial heritage of the silo, and Zeitz MOCAA. She states: ‘I’m very over-the-top in décor, but I knew for it to be relevant here it had to be industrial and paired down.’

Read next: Peak inside The Silo hotel in Cape Town.