Second Wind Brewing Taproom & Kitchen

The Challenge

Second Wind had outgrown their original space. The Main Street opportunity was obvious: high foot traffic, visibility to both pedestrians and motorists, and a central position in one of New England's most visited historic downtowns. The building itself was another matter.

The property carried a tired residential character that had nothing to do with a modern craft brewery. Without a deliberate and comprehensive exterior transformation, the location risked looking like a business that moved into someone's old house rather than a destination worth seeking out.

The goal was not just to add signage. It was to rebuild the building's identity from the outside in, and to do it in a way that was consistent with the Howland Street taproom that their existing customers already knew and loved.

Our Approach

Zebra Visuals started at the building envelope, before a single sign was specified. We recommended exterior paint colors and finishes calibrated to Second Wind's existing brand, addressing the overall visual character of the property as a foundation for everything that followed.

Paint and finish selections do not count against a building's permitted sign area, and they are frequently overlooked in sign projects. Treating the full exterior as a design problem, not just the sign locations, is what separates a cohesive result from a collection of individual elements.

With the exterior palette established, we developed a complete sign system covering both the building's exterior and its interior.

On the exterior, the package includes a wall sign with three-dimensional lettering and integrated lighting, a projecting sign designed to stop pedestrians and register clearly to passing motorists, and window graphics that reinforce the brand at street level. Each element serves a specific function in capturing attention across different distances and angles of approach.

Inside, we designed wall graphics, custom signage for the tap display, and wayfinding signs to orient guests throughout the new space. The interior program gives the taproom a finished, considered feel while maintaining the character Second Wind's regulars recognize from Howland Street.

Throughout the project, the visual language was developed with both locations in mind. A customer who visits Main Street for the first time and later discovers Howland Street should recognize the same brand at both addresses.

Navigating Plymouth's Historic District

Main Street sits within Plymouth's historic district, which adds a layer of regulatory complexity that most sign projects never encounter. The Historic District Committee reviews and approves all exterior changes to properties within its boundaries, with authority over the materials used, the methods of attachment, and, to a significant degree, the design itself. Submissions require formal presentations at scheduled committee meetings. Approval is not guaranteed on the first pass, and the review cycle can add months to a project timeline if it is not managed carefully from the start.

Zebra Visuals has worked within Plymouth's historic district across many projects and guided Second Wind through the entire process. That experience shaped the project from the design phase forward. Material selections, sign construction methods, and finish specifications were all developed with committee requirements in mind, reducing the risk of revision requests that delay approval. We prepared the submission documentation, represented the project at the required meetings, and managed the approval process so that Second Wind could focus on opening their business rather than navigating municipal review.

For any business unfamiliar with historic district requirements, the permitting process can be a significant and unexpected obstacle. Having a sign partner with direct experience in that process is not a convenience. It is a material advantage.

The Outcome

The building no longer reads as residential. It reads as Second Wind Brewing. The dimensional wall sign and projecting sign create immediate recognition from the street, and the window graphics pull pedestrians in. Inside, the tap display signage and wall graphics establish the same sense of place that made the original taproom worth staying in.

The transformation demonstrates what a comprehensive approach to exterior signage can accomplish. When paint, finish, dimensional signs, projecting signs, and window graphics are developed as a single system rather than ordered piecemeal, the building becomes the brand. The result draws in new customers and delivers a consistent experience for regulars who know Second Wind from its first location.

Key Takeaways

For growing hospitality businesses entering a new location, the sign package is only part of the equation. The Second Wind Brewing project illustrates several principles worth carrying into similar projects:

The building itself is part of the sign system.

Exterior paint and finish selections set the visual context for every sign element that follows. Getting them right costs nothing in sign area allowance and changes everything about how the property reads from the street.

Cohesion across locations requires deliberate design.

When a brand operates in multiple locations, the visual system at each address needs to be developed with the other in mind. Inconsistency erodes the brand equity built at the original site.

Exterior signage has to work at multiple scales.

A wall sign registers at distance. A projecting sign captures pedestrians and motorists from the side. Window graphics engage people at arm's length. Each element has a job, and a complete exterior package assigns those jobs intentionally.

Interior signage finishes the experience.

Drawing customers through the door is only the first step. Wall graphics, tap display signs, and wayfinding complete the environment and reinforce the identity that pulled people in from the street.

Historic district permitting requires a partner who knows the process.

Committee review adds time and introduces design constraints that can't be addressed after the fact. Working with a sign company that has direct experience in the process means submissions are prepared correctly, materials are specified to pass review, and the approval timeline is managed rather than discovered.