The Corner Store

Aline Architecture was hired by the owners of a highly acclaimed local burrito establishment to help them design and coordinate the creation of their second restaurant in a new location with the same name and menu.

The restaurant was to utilize the corporate branding of the first restaurant but Aline Architecture was invited to enhance the colors and interior architectural vocabulary to create a fresh contemporary urban industrial aesthetic, which could still be identified as another outlet of the original restaurant.

The Clients were actively engaged in the design dialogue and brought to the project a palette of objects including old factory doors, wired glass industrial windows, antique faucet handles, unique lighting fixtures, and also a strong sense of what they wanted.

A variety of materials for interior finishes were experimented with until a final palette was decided upon. For the flooring, reclaimed oak was used for part of the space and exposed aggregate with an epoxy coated concrete finish coat for the areas with the heaviest traffic.

A mixture of stool height, standing and standard seating height options were adopted, and the materials used were a steel grate material combined with precast concrete for the central communal dining table, the standing bars, serving stations, and coffee bar; while smaller tables and counter tops incorporated a green paper stone product called Richlite.

Of note are the ceilings which were clad in corrugated metal. In the central foyer space, the ceiling was brought up to the underside of the rafters and an industrial feeling was created through the installation of parallel chord aluminum trusses across the space.

By restraining the number of materials used, the interior is well integrated and provides an effective backdrop to the use of fun and bold colors on the walls and some of the serving stations and to the chalkboard signage that displays daily specials and the menu of delectable dining options.