Debuting in the early days of 2020, chef Rick Bayless‘s new fast casual concept Tortazo Rick Bayless deftly survived the pandemic to emerge as yet another successful brand in his eatery empire.
When the interior design experts at Aria Group Architects were first approached to develop an aesthetic for the inaugural location at Willis Tower, they sought to pay homage to the colors and patterns of traditional Latin American design. We helped them find distinctive masonry for the cladding of the service counter that was inspired by the warm, orangey-buff tones of “barro” clay cookware — and this beautiful masonry tile was actually laid backwards for extra texture!
Many bricks feature a ribbed texture on the reverse. With full-bed-depth masonry, this is often done to help the bricks dry and alleviate cracking, as well as making it easy for masons to quickly determine what’s the “wrong” side of the brick. When it comes to PCI Precast-tolerant thin brick or brick tile like what you see here, the roughed-up texture on the back helps strengthen the attachment between the brick and the substrate it’s being adhered to.
We also supplied a custom color of extra-sticky Spec Mix “poly-modified adhered veneer mortar” to each Tortazo location. Two more outposts are scheduled to open this year (one more for both Chicago and NYC), and we can’t wait to see how each will incorporate this carefully-chosen material!
LOCATION: 1123 Broadway, New York, NY 10010
ARCHITECT: Aria Group Architects
INSTALLER: JKB Services, Inc.
PRODUCTS SUPPLIED: Summitville Tile, Spec Mix
