COCHINO TACO

“Working with Johny Ballen of The Squeaky Bean was fantastic. His vision for the eclectic touches, finer details, and preservation of the older aspects of structures help to bring a refined aesthetic to his spaces. Our collaboration on collecting reclaimed materials, furniture, and lighting created an environment that brought an overdue richness to a vacant corner lot and a neighborhood in need of a living local watering hole.”

 

-David Schaich

The taco and tequila concept is nothing new. Add in the setting of a mid century gas station, and eclectic mix of found objects, and a successful restaurateur who has an acquired taste for fine mezcal, backed with his own tequila label, and you have a great story. He found a vacant gas station turned mini mart near his house on a busy intersection, and proceeded to envision revamping the mid century modern base elements. We brought together many reclaimed elements, from old barstool, hand glazed tile, plow wheels, old billboards, pipe shipping brackets, industrial lights, operating room lights, and grills from pickup trucks for the restroom mirrors. We had planned on extracting an old bar from a friends bar house, but it was in too many pieces, so we replicated it in mahogany plywood. http://www.cochinotacos.com