CHAO'S ORCHIDS. Area artist and tattooist Mel Georgakopoulos' recently finished his largest mural in the area, pictured in part above – but it's not yet available for public viewing. The mural is inside Chao Eatery which is planning for an end-of-summer opening at 420 Barstow St., Eau Claire.

Technically, one of Mel Georgakopoulos’ two new murals set to call the downtown area home is largely completed – but the business it can be found in has yet to open its doors to the public.

As we first shared a few weeks back, 420 Barstow St. will soon see the hustle-and-bustle energy of a new restaurant thanks to Huy Nguyen and Vivian Duong, the owners of Chao Eatery.

While not the husband-wife duo’s first venture together – they own and operate Norvary, a northern Vietnamese-style bistro in Winona, Minn. – it will be their first in Eau Claire. Now, it will also be the first local restaurant to have been graced by Georgakopoulos’ brushwork.

Mel's mesmerizing handiwork is already on view in downtown Eau Claire, alongside the the building at 224 N. Dewey St. (formerly home to Hive & Hollow, now occupied by GSB Thrifting).

Completed in just six days thanks to a linework-only drawing cast onto the Barstow Street space's interior wall via an old-school overhead projector, the mural shares stylistic similarities with the mural adorning 224 N. Dewey St. (formerly home to Hive & Hollow and now occupied by GSB Thrifting). 

That mural – which has won a couple Best Of the Chippewa Valley awards for “Best Mural” – can’t help but draw the eye, with its opaque, dark backdrop and spectrum of hues making up the florals and bird, carrying a ring of keys, which fill the foreground.

Georgakopoulos’ new mural inside Chao Eatery also has a near-black background, creating a beautiful contrast with the blues, greens and yellows of the orchid branches which stretch across a significant portion of the dining area’s left wall – making it the largest mural of his in the area (but definitely not the largest he's made; he created a 60-foot-by-190-foot mural in Boston, years ago).

Subtle, stunning shading and highlights bring movement to the otherwise vacant space, with the orchid petals themselves rich with a range of purples, blues and pinks.

On the far right, lower hand corner, a few sets of initials are all that indicate its artists: Georgakopoulos, his children and fellow local artist, Paige Panzenhagen.

Chao Eatery hopes to open yet this summer, set to satiate folks with its fusion-style menu – and, visually, with this new mural. For now, curious passersby can only cup their hands and peer into the shop for a glimpse of the artwork.

The Barstow Bellwort

At the corner of N. Barstow and Wisconsin Streets, alongside the space Eau Claire Outdoors (225 N. Barstow St.) resides, a second mural from Georgakopoulos will also be brought to life.

Thanks to a beautification grant award from the North Barstow Street BID board (which, for the sake of transparency, we'll point out Volume One publisher Nick Meyer is a member of), the mural will begin taking shape this September. 

The submitted mural plans, subject to change, for the red-brick building at 225 N. Barstow St., Eau Claire.

That large-scale mural, entitled the “Barstow Bellswort,” will be painted onto the building's rust red bricks by Georgakopoulos and local artist Tyree Heding (both are tattooists at Wintership Tattoo in Eau Claire; Heding is also a kickass rug artist).

Without those funds, the mural would not be able to bloom on Barstow Street later this year.

A fantastical take on a Bellwort flower, Georgakopoulos’ recognizable dark background – this one planned as a dark green – will be topped with blazing yellow and orange petals, vibrant purple and red leaves and stems.

At the lower lefthand corner, the murals’ name and Latin translation, “uvular grandiflora,” will be spelt out.

Keep up with us online to see photos of both murals once finished and publicly available to view (and about Chao Eatery once it opens its doors!).