NEWSLETTERS

04:58 PM CDT on Sunday, April 23, 2006

By CHRISTOPHER WYNN and MARIANA GREENE / The Dallas Morning News

Dining out can be a feast for the senses that goes way beyond the cuisine. From the soft glow of a chandelier to a cozy leather banquette for two, environment plays a crucial role in setting the scene for a satisfying meal.

We caught up with a trio of Dallas designers who brought their distinct personalities and style to three of the city's most beguiling boutique eateries. Two of these designers also are restaurant owners, and one is a residential décor guru who had never previously designed a restaurant. All three took the concept of "place setting" to a new level.

The menu, please ...

Alice Cottrell studied interior design at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth before launching her career with a firm in New York. Her first assignment? Working on Donald Trump's casino hotels. Twenty years later, she still specializes in commercial hotel interiors and recently began doing residential design with business partner Rick Rozas.

Ms. Cottrell's hotel experience came in handy when she partnered with chef Tracy Miller in 2003 to launch Local, a boutique eatery in the historic Boyd Hotel building on Elm Street in Deep Ellum. She describes the design as "a little bit of all of my favorite restaurants from my travels."

The restaurant quickly became a hipster darling. Its success prompted the women to annex the space next door last year to add a chic new lounge, wine cellar and more dining space in what formerly was the Boyd Art Gallery.

When did you become intrigued by design?

I wasn't a kid who redecorated her bedroom every six months. I discovered design through art. I took loads of painting lessons while growing up in Houston, and that's what started the process for me.

Where do you find inspiration?

There's nothing more inspiring than travel. Anywhere you go, you see hundreds of things that are new, whether it's the way a napkin is folded or an intriguing paint color, it's always inspiring wherever you go.

How would you describe the design concept for the restaurant and new lounge?

It's a distinctive style composed of clean, simple interiors and furnished with 20th-century pieces. The look has a cool, timeless quality, which I think is best described as modern classicism.

What was your original vision for the new lounge next door?

When we started, the room was very raw and there was almost nothing here but concrete. We wanted this area, like the rest of the restaurant, to feel warm and inviting. People say it feels like their living room, which is a great compliment.

The project must have seemed overwhelming. Where did you start?

After the plumbing and [heating and cooling] system were installed, we focused on the bar. We laid pine flooring in the space to match the original 1908 pine hardwoods in the main restaurant area next door. One of our first design ideas was to run the hardwood floors right up the bar front and also the back wall of the bar to connect it visually to the rest of the space. We installed a Bang & Olufsen sound system on the back wall and decided to let that be the focus instead of cluttering it with shelves and glasses. Finally, we brightened things up by installing a light-colored granite bar top. The bar chairs are zebrawood from the ICF Group.

The play of texture in the space is really engaging and one of your signatures. Describe some of the elements you've used here.

The wool shag rugs are made to measure from a company based in California. Brent Comber designed the coffee tables from split-log maple. They're beautiful and also very durable: Water, red wine, everything cleans right up off of them.

And that's obviously a concern in a restaurant ...

I try to make all of the interiors I do, whether commercial or residential, as resilient and bulletproof as possible. I like to be able to spray-clean surfaces as much as possible. I may have a Windex fetish.

The wine cellar has a modern twist. How did you achieve this?

I've used those same wine racks with some of my clients, and people always ask about them. They are mod aluminum tubes designed by Murray Moss, from his Moss boutique in SoHo. They're about $105 each, and they can hold a bottle on either side or you can choose to stack your bottles on just one side, which is what we did.

What are you working on now?

We currently have several residential projects under way. My most recent hotel project was the Hotel Montgomery in San Jose, California. It was a very daunting historical renovation, but I really love the final result.

What are the plans for Local?

We hope patrons will consider us the Union Square Café of Dallas; we want to be that great little restaurant that's been here for more than 20 years.

Local is at 2936 Elm St. in Deep Ellum. Phone: 214-752-7500.

Mexico-born interior designer Julio Quiñones grew up in Dallas and studied at El Centro College. In a relatively short time, he’s built a formidable reputation for creating modern interiors with a neoclassical edge.

Mr. Quiñones, 28, has specialized in residential design for clients such as Dallas Mayor Laura Miller. But he had the opportunity last year to do something completely different, to create a restaurant interior. Chef Abraham Salum’s contemporary American cuisine hot spot, Salum, on Cole near Knox-Henderson, turned out to be a savory showcase for the designer.

When did you become intrigued by design?

I used to work on furniture a lot growing up, which I thought was more fun than playing with other kids. I would find things on the street, like a chair, and take it apart and try to redo it. I was always trying to fix something up, so that was a definite influence on my work today. In high school, I did construction work, and it taught me a lot about perspective, dimension and how things worked. I later thought I wanted to be a textile designer and go into fashion, but I thankfully focused on studying interior design instead.

What was your first design job?

I had my first client when I was 18 years old. It was a house over on Lovers Lane. Today, I’m now working on that same client’s current home in Las Colinas and, later this year, I will be doing the interior of her new high-rise apartment inside the W Hotel. It has been really gratifying to grow, and, I hope, improve with each project. I’m really fortunate today to be able to choose to work on projects I feel passionate about.

How did your collaboration with chef Salum come about?

I was a regular customer at Parigi, where Abraham had previously been executive chef, and we became friends. He told me about his plans to open his own place, and I immediately said that I wanted to help design it. I love to dine out and have always found restaurants to be very intriguing places. I’m also extremely persistent.

How is designing a commercial space different from a residential project?

You definitely have to do things differently. For example, we had to purchase 90 chairs at once. I come from a background of clients who spend, spend, spend, but for this project, we were working with a very tight budget. We wanted it to look like a million bucks, but we didn’t have a million bucks to spend.

How did you solve the chair dilemma?

We went online and were able to find these clean-lined birch chairs. They’re simple and don’t distract from the overall design. Also, I loved that the color of the seat covers was called “Anita Sugarbrown.”

Describe the style of Salum.

It’s classic and fresh, without feeling trendy.

One of the most interesting things about Salum is that the dining room is oriented around an open-plan kitchen. How did you work that into your design?

When Abraham told me that he wanted an open kitchen, I knew that we would need something fabulous there to be a focal point. I brought in an Empire-style buffet that I had purchased at auction in New York. It was originally black-lacquered, so I had it painted the same chartreuse color as the L in the Salum logo.

Another striking feature in the space is the sculptural-looking chandeliers.

They are Capiz shell chandeliers suspended inside thin cages. I thought the frames were too predictable, so I covered them in a smoky-turquoise Bart Halpern silk, which was custom-sewn with a bronze flange. I wanted to give them a twist and wake things up a bit. Having the fixtures covered is sexier, and I love the way the fabric sways sometimes.

The restaurant’s foyer is very dramatic. How did you achieve this?

You have to have a strong entryway and put your best foot forward when guests walk in. I had bronze mirrors installed in the entry, and they’re also behind the banquettes. I remember the installation team was worried they would be ’80s-looking, but, in fact, they are very soft, flattering and less distracting than traditional mirrors. I designed the olive leather bench in the entry as well as the host stand.

Rufus-Felix designs our flowers, and here we use a light box to light them from underneath. They almost seem to glow.

Now that you’ve done your first restaurant, will you be designing any other eateries in the future?

I would love to, but we’ll have to see. Right now, I’m working on several design projects in Dallas and one in Beverly Hills, so I’m staying busy.

How do you keep up with design trends in the industry?

I research the market and see what’s new in terms ofproducts. I’m always looking for fresh ideas, but I avoid anything that’s too trendy. I also just get out and shop a lot, which gives me ideas. In fact, its probably an addiction. You know that expression ’born to shop?’ Well, that’s me.

The life of an interior designer seems glamorous. True or false?

False. It’s only glamorous when everything is done and you’re at the cocktail party. Getting there is not pretty and is a lot of hard, often physical, work.

Salum Restaurant is at 4152 Cole Ave. Phone: 214-252-9604.

Ron Guest has designed so many boldfaced restaurants in Dallas – the Lombardi properties including Taverna and Toulouse, Toscana, Mediterraneo, Aurora, Mariano's Hacienda – that owning one couldn't be much of a leap.

Last July, the self-professed foodie opened Café San Miguel on North Henderson near the Episcopal cathedral, to fill a void. Dallas, he said, needed to become acquainted with authentic Mexican food.

Word spread quickly, and Café San Miguel captured a clientele from the Lakewood neighborhoods and the other side of Central Expressway, including Highland Park.

You began your career in residential design. Why did you switch to restaurant design?

I was doing houses for wealthy people in Mexico, and I was asking myself how I ended up in such a superficial business. Then I did a sushi bar in Monterrey. I like honest things and for honest reasons. To me, a restaurant is more creative than residential. ... You get to make it up and sell it as a concept.

Why is Dallas such a restaurant town?

I call them the Fickle 500. Give 'em something trendy and hip and they're there. But they're on to the next one as soon as it opens.

Are Dallas customers any different from those in other cosmopolitan cities?

They're spoiled because of how many concept restaurants open up each year. We're used to space and land and driving everywhere. People expect space around them in a restaurant. We don't do well at community tables, although Stephan Pyles is having success with that at his new restaurant.

What's the first thing you want customers to notice when they enter the restaurant?

My sunshine, Enna Serabia, and her lovely smile. She makes the handmade corn tortillas. The tortilla ladies are very proud of their craft, and Enna, who's from Yucatán, knows what she's doing. We've had nights where she's made upward of 700 tortillas.

Were you raised in Mexico?

No, in Kingsville, in South Texas. My mother is Mexican-American and my father is a white boy, but I was raised by my Mexican grandparents. I am fluent in Spanish because my grandparents only spoke Spanish. But they sent me to school with the nuns to learn English. (He makes the sound of a ruler whacking across a child's knuckles.)

What's the concept of the restaurant's decor?

I wanted it, first, to be bohemian, diverse. ...We didn't have a big budget, and I wanted to take advantage of my contacts in Mexico. The ironwork on the windows was made in Mexico. I designed the goatskin lampshades and had them made in Mexico.

The tables are covered in handmade paper from Mexico, but it looks like burled wood or goatskin. Lotería cards are découpaged onto the counter, and I've ordered a painting from Mexico for the big blank wall that will be a view of San Miguel, the town.

Why are red rose petals strewn on the tile floor in the women's bathroom?

It's all about love, love, love. And the red rose is also a symbol of the Virgen de Guadalupe. The statue of St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things, is upside down in there because, in Mexico, women turn him upside down until he sends them a husband.

Any new projects on the front burner?

I'm going to Spain with Alberto [Lombardi] to look at a new concept. I'm designing my own version of the guayabera shirt for our servers and having them manufactured in Mexico. And we're negotiating a new concept for our second restaurant: tacos, burgers, nachos and beer. I want a burger place, a taco place, a bakery and a store that sells the real folk art of Mexico, not the touristy stuff.

And I want to do it all in this neighborhood. With all the gentrifying going on, I hope we're able to maintain the flavor and diversity of this neighborhood.

Café San Miguel is at 1907 N. Henderson Ave. Phone: 214-370-9815.

E-mail cwynn@dallasnews.com or magreene@dallasnews.com