Arcoroc

Chef/Owner Jonathan Eismann – Arcoroc Original #2

Q American Barbeque Restaurant Miami, FL

First of all, it’s a time-consuming process that takes a lot of patience–but it’s well worth when it positively distinguishes your establishment. Last year, I designed a pizzeria with a mozzarella bar, building a modern restaurant with classic inspiration.  We knew we nailed the design when our “urban industrial chic” vibe was referenced in subsequent restaurant reviews. 

But to get there, you have to do your homework. I researched and visited like-minded establishments to see what they looked like. Sometimes, I borrowed bits and pieces of others’ designs and married them into one. Other times, I saw what I did not want, and that was just as helpful. You can’t be afraid to make mistakes, but at the same time, you have to be pretty sure of the plan or you can go way over budget way too easily.

I not only wanted the pizzeria to look very urban/industrial, I wanted to highlight its’ big wood-burning oven and mozzarella selection.  It’s a little place, so I opened it up by painting it all white.  Then we stained the floor grey to give it an industrial look.  We replaced the old air conditioning ducts with exposed round ducts that hung from the ceiling. At that point, we had a great-looking space without decor or equipment.  So, we made the wood oven the focal point, building the entire restaurant around the oven using great stainless-steel display cases and classic white marble counters and tabletops. We made sure the flame could be seen from all parts of the restaurant as well as from the street.  A big exposed wine rack and giant blackboard menus mounted to the walls add to the very open and casual feel. It’s been a year since we opened–and the design is holding up well, although it’s already time for a paint job.

Go to Cardinal Catalogs and Facebook to see tableware that Q Restaurant uses! http://www.cardinalcatalogs.com/

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 9:43 am and is filed under Arcoroc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.