Willy’s Bagels and Blends’ Balfour location is like an extension of Heritage High School, located just across the street on American Avenue. Students stop by for a morning pick-me-up or an afternoon snack – sometimes both. They go there for group meetings or just to visit and hang out, but now Willy’s has officially been marked as an ally to the Patriot clan thanks to the help of an imaginative student.

Willy’s manager Scott Richardson knew that junior Jacquelyn Klinger was a gifted artist. Her decorations helped Heritage win last year’s Brentwood Bowl Spirit Contest versus Liberty High School and the Willy’s located on Second Street. So when one of the main walls in the café needed a fresh coat of paint, Richardson invited Klinger to use the wall as her canvas for a mural reflecting the spirit of Heritage High.

“We are so grateful for the support of the students at Heritage,” Richardson said. “It means a lot for us – especially in this economy when a lot of family-owned businesses don’t last long. We’re about to celebrate our five-year anniversary at this location and we wanted to have a way to thank the Heritage community for their continued support. We’re excited about the future. We hope to be here for a long time, and as long as we’re open, this mural is going to be right here.”

An amateur artist who hasn’t taken any art courses at Heritage, Klinger was excited about the opportunity to inject the Heritage spirit into the students’ favorite coffee shop. On Sept. 14, Willy’s hosted the official unveiling of Klinger’s work, an event that had been highly anticipated by Heritage students and loyal Willy’s customers who watched Klinger’s progress over the course of the summer.

“I wanted to show the diversity of our school and celebrate the student body, so I included things like band, sports, Heritage landmarks and Mt. Diablo, since it’s a part of our landscape,” Klinger said. “I’ve never done anything like this before. Doing a wall mural is a lot different than drawing on a sheet of paper at a desk. But it was really exciting, and people would come in to watch me work and ask me questions. It was a great experience.”

The Heritage mural, entitled “We Are One,” features students representing different sports and activities such as cheerleading and choir. Klinger’s concept is that it takes the entire Heritage community to create a memorable school year. She used yearbook photos as inspiration to capture the spirit of Heritage and even used some students’ likenesses to give the mural authenticity.

Principal Larry Oshodi was impressed by Klinger’s work and delighted by her attempt to capture the Patriot spirit: “We’re so proud of how she’s depicted the character of Heritage’s most critical aspect: student life on campus.”

Willy’s Bagels and Blends is located at 390 West Country Club Drive in Brentwood.