For nearly two decades, people have come to Hope & Olive in Greenfield for warm meals and even warmer conversations. But surrounding them on the restaurant’s walls is something else that changes just as regularly: the work of local artists.
According to owner Jim Zaccara, displaying art has been part of Hope & Olive since the business opened 19 years ago. The restaurant hosts four exhibits each year, rotating artists and giving regular patrons a different visual experience alongside the food.
For the artists whose work fills those walls, however, the arrangement offers something that can be hard to find elsewhere: an audience that did not necessarily come seeking art.
“It’s mutualistic. It’s certainly symbiotic,” said Greenfield photographer Paul Jablon, whose work is currently showcased at the restaurant and is available for purchase at $70 apiece. “Not all symbiotic relationships are mutualistic. In this case, I think it is.”
That relationship is at the center of Hope & Olive’s approach to exhibiting local art. The restaurant gains an ever-changing atmosphere for its guests, while artists gain exposure to people who may never visit a traditional gallery and diners are introduced to work they might otherwise never encounter.
Jablon, who has lived in Franklin County for 22 years, has been exhibiting locally for about two and a half years. His show features black-and-white landscape photography, particularly images exploring clouds and their interaction with bodies of water.
He was invited to exhibit at the restaurant after Zaccara saw his work in a show at the Greenfield Public Library. Jablon said he was immediately interested because of the way that Hope & Olive treats the artwork displayed in its space.
“They have lighting for the art. They give people ample space for the art,” he said.
That distinction matters, Jablon said. While anyone can simply place artwork on the walls, he sees Hope & Olive as making the art part of the experience of being in the restaurant.
For diners, that experience can happen almost accidentally.
“The good thing about showing in a restaurant is that there are so many people I know who never go to galleries, never even go to museums,” Jablon explained. “Being able to walk into a restaurant where the art is displayed aesthetically allows people to be exposed to art that they’ve never seen before.”
Instead, someone may encounter a photograph or a painting while waiting for a table, sitting down to eat or pausing during a conversation. Jablon said that proximity can lead people not only to notice the work but also to talk about it with the people around them.
Mosaic artist Cynthia Fisher has experienced that kind of exposure firsthand. After exhibiting at Hope & Olive in 2015, she said she would occasionally run into people who recognized her work from the restaurant.
“It’s not that easy to get shows nowadays,” Fisher shared. “So having a one-person exhibit up in a venue is great. And you know that people will see it.”
Similarly to Jablon, Fisher sees the restaurant environment as fundamentally different from a gallery. Gallery visitors arrive with the intention of viewing art, while restaurant patrons may discover it unexpectedly.
“If they choose to look up at the wall, they’re rewarded with something special that they wouldn’t have seen otherwise,” Fisher said.
In the case of Hope & Olive, the relationship works because it aligns with the reason Zaccara and his team have chosen to operate an independent local business.
“Using our business makes us feel the most satisfaction when we can support our community and connect with people,” he said.
Running a restaurant, Zaccara explained, can be stressful and demanding. But the ability to use the space creatively and as a place where people can connect helps make that work worthwhile.
“We can use our space in any way that we see fit,” Zaccara said. “What makes it all worthwhile is when we can really be creative and use our space as a community center and as a way for people to connect.”
The artists handle much of the practical work themselves, including hanging their pieces on the walls, and Hope & Olive does not take a commission on artwork sold. Interested buyers contact the artists directly.
That model reinforces what Jablon sees as a broader relationship between artists, businesses and the community in Franklin County.
“The owners win by having a new experience for their patrons,” he said. “The patrons win because they get to see art when they come in again. And certainly the artists have a chance to have people see their art who may never see it if it weren’t at the restaurant.”
Jablon finds the exchange to be larger than any single exhibit.
“This is really about these symbiotic relationships and how easily people in different professions can support one another,” he said.
At Hope & Olive, the result is a relationship in which no one side simply gives. The restaurant offers its walls, artists bring something new and diners leave with the possibility of having encountered something they never expected to see.
Jablon will have his art up at Hope & Olive until January. For purchases, contact him at synergyofinquiry@gmail.com. To express interest in submitting artwork for future shows, email Zaccara at jim@hopeandolive.com.
