Il Fornaio
In 2005 Il Fornaio won Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence for all 23 of their restaurants. Howard J. Backen designed the Il Fornaio restaurants, for Larry Mindel and the Il Fornaio Corporation, the first being in Corte Madera in 1987. Continuing this success, Howard designed other Il Fornaio restaurant locations including San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Carmel, Costa Mesa, Sacramento, San Jose, Del Mar, Palo Alto, Pasadena, and Porland, all while principal in charge of Backen, Arrigoni and Ross (BAR). At Backen, Gillam & Kroeger, Howard continued with restaurants in Santa Monica, Seattle, Atlanta, and Scottsdale, as well as at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and on Coronado Island.
