The interior designer behind Barrio, the ByWard Market’s newest Latin American restaurant, says the eatery will bring a new feel to the area, not only because of the food, but because of the look.
Barrio is the most recent project of chef Lizardo Becerra, who also operates Raphaël Peruvian Cuisine on Elgin Street. His new eatery opened last Friday, taking over the former location of Pure Kitchen at 115 Rideau St.
Melanie Neault is the principal designer at Launch Your Space, which has been busy designing the look and feel at Barrio and adding all the last-minute touches. She said that Barrio’s curated atmosphere will give it an elevated profile in the area.
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“I feel like when you’re in there, you really feel like you’re not in the Market … It just feels more intimate than a standard pub or bar that you typically find on Rideau Street. I think Rideau Street has a big turnover, but the ones flanking those four corners in the Market are pretty strong and I think Barrio can attest to being the strong one now,” Neault said.
As she designed the new space for Barrio, she told OBJ she wanted to veer away from what people think a Latin American restaurant should look like.
“We wanted to go with more terracotta, rather than neon lights and cactuses. It was more of a street food after hours (feel),” Neault said. “It feels like you’re in a vase with all the layers and the look and feel of the place.”
The restaurant’s open concept design as well as music heard down William Street will hopefully draw people in, she added.
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“We created a DJ booth, something that brings people in but (is) also approachable, so that even if you’re not familiar with that culture, you feel comfortable to go in,” she said.
Neault and the Barrio team were able to repurpose some items, such as the benches left over from Pure Kitchen and the Highlander Pub, which occupied the space from 2002 to 2020.
Barrio brings together a Latin American feel with local flair, Neault said of the space.
“A lot of it is memorabilia and things from back home. (Becerra) goes to Peru a lot and he’ll bring some mirrors and fabrics back. Then we did a little shopping trip around the Market just to fill things and create a local vibe,” she said.
Becerra was on a quick turnaround for this project, she said, so from concept to completion, the Barrio project took only two weeks. “I think we thrive off that momentum,” Neault said.
How the process unfolds
Neault said designing a space starts with a consultation with the business owner to find out if it’s the right fit then it’s off to the drawing board.
“We like to work with the branding, the menu and what they want to create and then enhance that in the space. We want (customers) to leave remembering the food so if we can create an atmosphere that lends itself to that, then we’ve done our job correctly,” she said.
A large part of the conceptual work is coming up with a design formula that both her team and the client can refer back to.
“This helps the client down the road, if ever they want to make a change, add new furniture or switch things up. The formula stays there so that they can keep plugging it in … The whole point is to have these restaurants flourish and if things have to shift, they are already given skills from what we did with them to be able to evolve as their industry and restaurant evolve,” she said.
Neault compared the design process to throwing spaghetti at a wall, saying you end up with the end result through trial and error and “seeing what sticks.”
Sometimes interior design can affect a restaurant beyond just enhancing the space. After Launch Your Space reconfigured Dreamland Café on Preston Street to include a small bar space, the eatery added a new stream of income and saw its sales double.
“People want to stay longer and come just for a drink rather than come for a meal,” Neault said.
Though she said she doesn’t design a space with photo opportunities in mind, Neault said it’s a happy by-product of what she does when someone posts about her spaces on social media. “That’s kind of the pleasant surprise that you get later … Our first priority is to make sure it hits what the owner wants and often I feel like restaurant owners want that feeling, because it brings people in. It has to be full circle,” she said.
Neault said that seeing the restaurant owner thrive in a newly designed space is her favourite part of her job.
“The best part of design is when you see the client embrace what you’ve created,” she said, adding that if a restaurant was a meal, she’s happy her designs get to be a part of the ingredient list.
