3 MARGARITAS DOWNTOWN COCINA MEXICANA
Denver, Colorado

3 Margaritas is a contemporary Mexican restaurant within the former Paramount Café, a beloved institution serving the 16th Street pedestrian mall for over 40 years. The space is within the historic Kittredge Building and was once the lobby for the Paramount Theater. As part of the renovation, the original ornate Art Deco detailing was kept intact to enhance the sense of place.

The overall goal for the team was to celebrate the historic character of space while bringing a modern Mexican dining experience to patrons. The interior concept was brought to life through Mexican sourced artwork, dishes, tile, custom light fixtures, and custom furniture fabricated from the owner’s home state of Jalisco in Mexico. The lighting design approach followed the architect’s vision for creating 3 distinct spaces that each took on their own identity.

The lighting in the bar, galleria, and indoor patio are thoughtfully tailored to each space. The floating bar was designed as an iconic gathering space with lighting as the secret ingredient to showcase its unique features and enhance the bar experience. Concealed linear accent lighting is integrated into floating glass shelves with a mirror backing that reflects the Mexican sourced liquor and the space itself. Concealed track lighting above the bar area highlights historic Art Deco cornice details around the perimeter of the room, while accent lighting under the bar highlights Talavera hand-painted tiles and creates a strong silhouette for bar stools.

Display niches with custom lighting have art that celebrates contemporary and traditional regional craft traditions and the Galleria was transformed into a brilliantly colored dining room. New LED track lighting highlights artwork, small pendants add sparkle at banquette seating, and a new Turrell-inspired ceiling cove unifies and expands the space with colored LED lighting in colors traditional to Mexican architecture. The indoor patio is grounded with large custom floral glass chandeliers. With detail or experience was left without thought, the path to the bathroom is heightened with a softly illuminated colorful mural created by a local Mexican artist that highlighted animals native to Jalisco.

Client: RE Architecture, Inc.
Photography Credit: RE Architecture, Inc.
Commercial, Lighting Design, Electrical Engineering