3 Margaritas decided to move to a signature location in downtown Denver on the 16th St. pedestrian Mall. The prior restaurant had been a beloved institution for 40 years: The Paramount Cafe in the historic Kittredge Building. Originally the space had been the lobby for the Paramount Theater and still had ornate Art Deco detailing and a beautiful terrazzo floors from those days. The challenge was to create a contemporary Mexican restaurant experience yet be respectful of the historic character of the space. To develop the concept, the owner and the architect took multiple trips to the owner’s home state of Jalisco to source artwork, dishes, talavera tile and other special elements as well as a fabricator who made all the furniture custom designed by the architect.
The design approach was to create 3 very different rooms that each took advantage of the identity of each space. The bar area was transformed to create an iconic space highlighting the historic floor and trim. Floating glass shelves above the bar display tequila and mezcal from throughout Mexico with a mirror backing that reflected the bottles and the space itself. The bar top is made from a single piece of parota - a special wood indigenous to Jalisco state. The face of the bar was lined with black and white talavera hand painted tiles. Display niches were created to display special art work that celebrates contemporary and traditional craft traditions from the region. New bright red leather stools create a special color accent.
The Galleria was conceived as a brilliantly colored dining room with special art on the wall. A cove in the ceiling used to created a ceiling of slowly colored LED light to celebrate the tradition of color used in Mexican architecture. Specially designed booths one one wall with panels that had a hole pattern created using digital design and fabrication. This technique was also used for a wood screen at the end of the room with a parota tree pattern.
The indoor patio connects to the patio on the 16th St. Mall with large garage doors. The space is conceived as an indoor garden with huge floral chandeliers and specially designed patio furniture. This spaces has a storefront wall at the entry that is highlighted with a green parota tree image furthering the garden feel.
Even the bathrooms were made special lined with floor to ceiling talavera tiles to create a memorable experience. This was heightened by a new colorful mural in the hallway created by a local Mexican artist that highlighted animals native to Jalisco. To return to the restaurant you are confronted by “ I DARE YOU” to complete the experience.
Client: 3 Margaritas
Type: Interior, Restaurant
Data: 6000 sf, 211 seats with exterior patio
Date: Completed 2020