ArcWest was hired by the new owners of an existing small commercial restaurant structure on the 800 block of North Wadsworth in Lakewood, CO to facilitate the design of a new pizza shop using the existing space, which required an exterior shell renovation. Much of the existing interior infrastructure was in place and in serviceable condition. The original building, matching the design style of a well-known sandwich shop, sat vacant for some time until it was recently acquired by new ownership. The original structure consisted of an approximately 1,590 SF footprint with exterior walls of concrete block. The exterior building façade elements were applied to the structural concrete block providing a unique opportunity to strip the exterior back to the components and creating an ideal palette to re-create an exterior building look and form.
The new owners wanted to establish a new exterior image that could be marketed to a variety of food purveyors with a clean, modern look that expands on the amount of light entering the facility as well as opening up onto an outdoor eating patio that could be flanked by a classic English style double decker bus that had been already converted to a food truck-style coffee shop. The first level of the bus served as the coffee shop and the second level provided additional elevated seating. “Red Bus Coffee” made perfect sense in this location as the food truck style is 100% self-sufficient and 100% mobile and was driven into its final location. No infrastructure or site development were required to make this a part of the overall food service.
ArcWest developed a design that involved stripping the exterior to its bones and applying a new image over the top, with minimal structural modification to the exterior and leaving the interior to be custom modified for the final occupant.
This project is in the final stages of construction and is anticipated to open permit review and construction is anticipated to open in May of 2025.
ArcWest has provided restaurant design services for numerous redevelopments throughout the Denver Metro area – check out our restaurant and bar portfolio here. We’re also honored to be recognized by Home Builder Digest’s list of top restaurant architects in Denver.
