ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The new 2D Cafe, which opened earlier this month in St. Petersburg, has been completely hand painted in black and white to create an illusion of being immersed in a cartoon-like, two-dimensional world. 

"This concept originated in Japan, a few years ago," said owner Maria Merello, 44.  "We thought what better place to do it then St. Petersburg."

What You Need To Know

  • Local artist Chad Mize hand painted the cafe

  • The 2D Cafe slogan is 'be the art.' 

  • Orlando has the only other 2D restaurant in Florida

Merello said she chose the location at 2105 Central Ave. because of the vibrant art culture in the area and the building was the perfect size to be painted.

 

"We needed a place that was going to be big enough, to have enough walls, to showcase the art," she said. "We worked for over a year trying to get this specific location." ​

Merello commissioned local multimedia artist Chad Mize, 47, to paint the building and gave him free range with the concept.

"I definitely wanted to make this our own design and not copy what has already been done," said Mize. "Put my touch on it."


Mize is a prolific muralist whose work has appeared on restaurants, breweries and apartment buildings. The artist said the goal was to make it a European style cafe. Mize painted scenes from France, Germany and Italy. 

"This was my biggest interior piece to date. Typically, I'll just paint one wall of a restaurant but this was every surface inside," he said. "It was a huge task to take on but it just feels so satisfying when you see the end result." 

Mize said the entire project took about 45 days to complete and enjoys the illusion he created.

"Everything seems flat because all the furniture is painted with line work on it. So, it's almost like an optical illusion when you're in there," he said. "What is real and what isn't real? It's really cool."

Merello said she couldn't be happier with the results.


"He did an amazing job," she said. "The best moment for me is people coming in here and go 'wow.'"

The 2D Cafe slogan is 'be the art.' 

"We want you to be the art, the focal point, the center piece of your own comic book," said Merello. "You come sit here, you take a picture, you pop against the black and white and it's a lot of fun." 


Merello said the 2D cafe serves European style bistro food with sandwiches, pastries, coffee and more eats from her home country of Uruguay such as empanadas.

The cafe's grand opening was held on April 8. Orlando has the only other 2D restaurant in Florida called Twenty Pho Hour. The 2D Cafe is open Wednesdays to Sundays, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.