Client Profile: Lengthwise Brewery

Most people probably think of Lengthwise as the place that brought fresh brewed beer to Bakersfield. Probably because those same people forgot or never visited Bootlegger’s restaurant when it was open. Ralph Fruguglietti (owner of Frugatti’s) opened Bootleggers restaurant in the Ice House, just north of the Garces Circle off Chester Avenue, around 1994. It’s big draw was the brewery inside. A couple of dudes by the name of Jeff Williams and Darin Schwicker were put in charge of making the beer and managing the restaurant. Ralph even bottled two of the more popular flavors, Big Red and the Voluptuous Blonde ales. At the time we had done the logos for both Frugatti’s and Bootlegger’s, so Ralph commissioned us to design the labels for the bottles. Jim Bennett a talented illustrator working for me at the time, did the illustrations and designed the logos. His wife served as the model for the Voluptuous Blonde. This was pre-computer times. Both illustrations were painstakingly rendered with colored pencils.