Latin Cafe 2000 at LeJeune!!!

In response to Customer requests, the Owner decided to redesign the interior look and feel of the restaurant. The objective was to give a brand new and more modern look that could be achieved without losing the restaurant’s identity and without closing the restaurant. All work was done after- hours, section by section.

The design objective was to create a modern tropical style ambience. The existing dining area consisted of a large room with an acoustical ceiling, all at the same elevation, terminating in a lower gypsum board soffit at the perimeter. The spatial design concept was to break up the large space into two distinct areas. The area with the eat-in counter/bar located of the main entrance, with more traffic and energy would be one and the remaining, more private area with booth seating would be the other. To give each area a separate and distinct feel a suspended ceiling element was added to each. On the first area gypsum panel suspended ceiling was added, painted pale blue and anchored at one end by walls which double as a screen for the existing waiter station, while becoming a focal point with a collage of colorful cement Cuban mosaic tiles on the other side. The new eat-in counter top consists of a quartz material which simulates the white beach sand of the tropics. Overhead decorative wood rafters were added below the acoustical ceiling between the existing bulkhead and the new suspended gypsum ceiling. The die wall below the counter was finished with monotone cement Cuban tiles for a subtle finish, so as to not to distract from the focal colorful mosaic accent wall.

On the other side, a suspended wood panel platform was added to define a more quiet and private ambience. The colors, materials, and textures of the tropics were fused with modern materials throughout the space. Different color wood was used. The thick table tops were selected in a medium oak stain, while the wainscot consist of a plastic laminate simulating bamboo with dark wood stain trims. The light green fabrics booth colors, wood louvered curtain, and colorful-Cuban theme artwork complete the space to create a vibrant tropical ambience.