BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – Makayla Beam, a local artist, recently painted a mural on the side of Giovanni’s Restaurant in Weston.
Right off U.S. 33, Giovanni’s is a staple in the Weston community, and has been for the past thirty years.
The general manager said the mural was part of a refresh for the restaurant.
“For people from out of town, our name’s a little misleading,” said Karli Hamrick, the general manager of Giovanni’s. “When they hear Giovanni’s they think Italian, which a few years ago that’s why I hired Schyler Garton Samples to kind of do a rebranding of our menu and our logo.”
Along with a new mural and logo came the mural that Beam painted this summer.
Beam is from Jane Lew, and she loves painting murals around the county to help give back.
“The best part about the mural work is the community interaction,” said Beam. “It’s really nice when people stop or honk or they’ll come in and ask what I’m doing, that I’m not graffitiing the building. It’s been really positive.”
She says murals are fun to work on because you never know what your next step is.
Beam also painted a mural on Main Street in Jane Lew last year, and she said both pieces of art give people another reason to stop and visit.
“We’re really tiny towns, and we do have major tourist attractions like the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and the state 4-H camp, but I don’t think people tend to stop as much,” said Beam. “I think with murals and public art, it grabs people’s attention. Not more so than the tourist attractions, but it’s a reason to stop beside the major tourist attractions.”
Although Beam doesn’t know what her next project is, she’s excited to keep giving back to her community.
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