Hidden Gems: Meet Christy Wulfson of INDIO + Bar Saeso

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Wulfson.

Hi Christy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in a railroad family in Vermont, where I spent summers guiding, collecting tickets, and entertaining tourists on historic passenger trains — my first taste of hospitality and creating memorable experiences.

In search of a big-city experience and warmer weather, I left for the West Coast, where I studied marketing, communication, and design, eventually landing in Los Angeles. I would spend the next decade cutting my teeth in commercial interiors with entertainment, tech, and creative clients like Disney, Universal Studios, and Hyundai Genesis, reimagining workplace strategy long before COVID made everyone reimagine the office.

In 2018, my then business partner and I moved to his hometown of Cincinnati with a vision of not just designing spaces, but developing them. We bought and restored The Carriage House, our first property in Pendleton, then transformed the former law office next door into Bar Saeso and eventually the headquarters of our architecture and design studio, INDIO.

Since then, that partnership has grown in every way. In 2024, we welcomed our son, and was lucky to add “mom” to my titles alongside designer, entrepreneur, developer, and bar owner. Today, I’m proud to be part of a team that blends a big-city perspective with deep connections to Cincinnati’s history and community, creating spaces that feel both forward-thinking and rooted in place.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been bumps along the way. Moving from the West Coast to the Midwest came with its own set of challenges. We had to adapt to a completely different market, where the processes and expectations I’d learned in L.A. didn’t always apply.

Both the design and hospitality industries have faced massive shifts in recent years. From supply chain disruptions to rising product and labor costs, to changing guest habits — how often people go out, what they want to spend — it’s been a constant evolution. In the design world, the shift to remote and hybrid work brought a wave of unknowns around how to approach office environments.

I also opened a restaurant in 2023 and ultimately made the tough decision to close it. Partly for reasons any restaurant owner can explain — the margins, the unpredictability — but also because I realized I needed to focus my energy. And the place where it’s always felt best to put that energy is design.

It would be great if things were easier, but there’s also something kind of invigorating about building in times of friction and uncertainty. There’s a feeling like “we’re all in this together”, even across industries, that feels really supportive and makes the work feel important even when it’s challenging.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about INDIO + Bar Saeso?
INDIO, the Architecture firm I co-founded in 2022, is a portmanteau of “Interior Identity Design Studio”. We’re a small team of designers and architects that I can confidently say is unlike any other firm in town. We have a really unique approach to the design process that lets us help our clients create on-brand experiences that reflect their values using workshops we’ve developed to define those values and translate them into spaces that feel amazing. We’ve had the opportunity to design many beloved restaurants, bars, and cafes in Cincinnati, hotels nation wide, and creative offices in Ohio and California.

Right now, we’re really excited about a concept we call “field work”, which is all about looking at the human spaces within large industrial contexts– think managers offices or break rooms within factories, lobbies and loading docks at logistics or storage hubs. Not everyone is looking at these spaces and thinking “this is where hospitality design belongs”, but we are.

On the total opposite side of the spectrum, we’re very excited about residential design right now too! Just like the idea of the workplace has been challenged recently, the idea of home is always a fascinating topic, especially when looking at it from a neighborhood scale and thinking about how the architecture of our homes shapes our lifestyles and communities.

Over the past three years, INDIO has helped businesses as large as global tech corporations and small as local taco stands and we’re very excited to see what the next few years bring.

INDIO’s studio is located above Bar Saeso, on Sycamore Street in Pendleton, right next to the heard of the historic and Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Saeso is a lovely little place to have cocktail in the terracotta and marble filled bar or outside on the patio. What sets us apart from others is the space’s ability to transport guests to a place that feels vacation-like and relaxing. I love when guests tell me they feel like they’re in Mexico City, Portugal, or Rome when they step in the door. The thing that makes me the most proud is knowing that Saeso is an important part of so many people’s stories now. It’s been the first date spot for so many couples, it’s a place many people from out of town make a point to stop in every time they’re in the city, and we’ve even hosted weddings! You never know the impact one little bar can have until you open one and I still feel so happy when I get to sit under the disco ball and order an Aperol spritz at happy hour, even for the millionth time. Saeso is open Monday-Saturday 4-10, late-night on weekends 🙂

How do you define success?
The most simple definition of success to me, is setting a goal and achieving it. I suppose the key to success then, is really more about the goals you set for yourself than anything else. Personally, I’m always striving for multiple goals at once, and recalibrating along the way. Some goals are big, and some teeny tiny. The success feels real when you stop to celebrate it– something we always try to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://indio.design
• Instagram: @studio.indio, @bar_saeso