A Taste of Jalisco Comes to Denver

By Katie Smith

When 3 Margaritas restaurant moved to a new location in the historic Kittredge Building in Denver, Esteban Murguia, co-owner, wanted to bring a taste of authentic Mexico to the area.

The location is ideal: with Art Deco detailing and beautiful terrazzzo floor, the space originally served as the Paramount Theater lobby.

Local design firm re:architecture was chosen to create a contemporary Mexican restaurant experience that respects the historic character of the building while delivering a modern Mexican dining experience to more than 200 guests.

Rick Epstein, re:architecture founder and principal, brought more than 25 years of architecture, urban design and master planning experience to provide an integrated perspective to the project.

The interior concept was brought to life through Mexican artwork, custom light fixtures and furniture sourced from the owner’s home state of Jalisco, Mexico.

“We carefully and diligently looked at both the big and very small elements to bring the culinary experience to restaurant guests,” said Epstein.

To ensure an authentic feel to the restaurant’s design, multiple trips were made to Murguia’s birthplace in Jalisco. It was in Guadalajara that the architect discovered artwork, lighting, Talavera tile and other special elements.

A native Jalisco fabricator was identified to custom design the furniture for the restaurant. The special crafts district of Tonala, which has a wide array of native and locally fabricated arts and crafts, was central in sourcing many of the elements used in the restaurant.

The vision created three unique environments for the 6,000-square-foot restaurant: A huge central bar, the galleria where artwork is showcased in a more tranquil setting and the indoor patio, which is an interior “garden” that connects to the outdoor patio to Denver’s 16th Street Mall.

Each area required a custom lighting scheme that would tastefully highlight architectural elements and create a fun and welcoming Mexican atmosphere.

Murguia and Epstein worked with Addie Smith, a senior certified lighting designer at AE Design Inc., who designed the lighting in collaboration with Epstein, carefully choosing luminaires to help his vision come to life.

Smith said, “Our approach to the lighting design followed the architect’s vision for creating the three spaces that each took on their own identity.”

Transforming the Bar Area

The bar became an iconic space with custom lighting that highlights the historic floor and trim. The bar top is made from a single piece of parotta, a special wood indigenous to Jalisco. The face of the bar is lined with black and white Talavera hand-painted tiles.

“The central floating bar was designed to be a gathering space, with lighting as the secret ingredient to showcase its unique features, enhance the bar experience, and drive revenue,” said Smith. “Concealed linear accent lighting is tucked into floating glass shelves with a mirror backing that reflects the Mexican-sourced liquor and the space itself. Concealed track lighting was installed above the bar to feature the historic Art Deco cornice details around the room’s perimeter."

Accent lighting under the bar highlights Talavera hand-painted tiles and creates a strong silhouette for the new bright red bar stools and display niches with custom lit special art work that celebrates contemporary and traditional regional craft traditions.

Celebrating Mexican Traditions

The Galleria, formerly a long low seating area, was transformed into a brilliantly colored dining room with bright interior paint finishes selected by Epstein, and a new renovated Turrell-inspired color-changing ceiling cove designed in collaboration with Smith. The cove uses concealed, slowly-changing colored LED lighting to celebrate the tradition of color commonly used in Mexican architecture. “We wanted to unify the space, make it feel more expansive by making use of the higher ceiling, and enhance the dining experience with a subtle kinetic lighting effect,” said Smith.

TLX RGB+TW Light Tape is located along the bottom edge at one side of an existing pop-up ceiling cove. Smith worked with Epstein to add a plastered curve of the cove to help carry the light around the inner surface for an infinity effect. Epstein and Smith specified this light tape from American Lighting, which is an economical and versatile tape light with RGB + Tunable White capable light output with a high 90+ CRI for precise color.

Its lengths are up to 13.1 feet, allowing for longer lines for easier installation. “We utilized the tape light based on its RGB and 2700K-6000K color options, output, local availability and affordability, along with its easy customization and long-term performance.” said Smith. “The color options enable us to set the appropriate light levels to create the exact effect for the experience we wanted to deliver.”

According to Jon Krams, former national sales manager for Prizm Lighting, the color in the tape light shifts slowly and plays with the other interior painted surfaces creating an experiential vibe in the dining area. “The color of both the paint and lighting in this space are inspired by the bright color traditions of Mexico.” The slow changing color patterns creates an imperceptible change over time.

Creating a Floral Paradise in the Indoor Patio

Throughout the restaurant, no detail was left untouched. The third major focus – the indoor patio connecting to the 16th Street Mall with large garage doors – was transformed with large custom floral themed chandeliers from Guadalajara and custom-designed patio furniture. This area has a storefront wall highlighted with a green parotta tree image to reinforce the garden feel.

Even the bathrooms with floor-to-ceiling Talavera tiles are special, creating a memorable experience. A colorful mural in the hallway created by a local Mexican artist features animals native to Jalisco.

“When we started this project, we knew we had a major challenge of turning a historic Art Deco space into an authentic Mexican restaurant, so we had to pay very close attention to every detail,” said Epstein. “After the renovation was completed, we were very pleased to see that our holistic design with the artistic elements and custom lighting scheme embraces the Jalisco spirit as an invitation to bring back guests again and again for an enjoyable dining experience.”■