cured

Pearl · San Antonio, Texas


Following a battle with lymphoma, Chef Steve McHugh opened the restaurant that would earn him six James Beard Award nominations for Best Chef. In front of a custom charcuterie locker, Cured, laser-cut and set among vintage floor tiles, is both a declaration and a mantra. A tenacious dedication to the process that creates precise conditions for carefully selected ingredients, then steps away, leveraging patience as a tool. What was once the administration building for a brewery and bottling plant has been transformed into an establishment specializing in organically cured meats and artisanally pickled fruits and vegetables.



Taking cues from the preservation at play in McHugh’s method, our team approached the 119 year-old space with the intention to both save and transform. We used the profile from salvaged ceiling tiles to recreate new ones, using a 100-year old technique.



We kept walls adorned with partially worn plaster in their imperfectly aged state. An old hand-cleaning station is now a water bottle chiller, contoured bricks from the old boiler hold wine bottles, and a drill press is the base of the charcuterie slicer.



We delineated the addition, the kitchen and a bar where visitors can observe the culinarians at work, with a “moat” of light and a window to the foundation below. This detail is a reminder of the transparency throughout Cured—walls uncovered, hanging meats in full view, a highlighted seam between old and new—while showcasing the strong foundation on which the building and McHugh’s process is built.



team

Architectural Team : Jonathan R. Card, Bengie Daniels, Brantley Hightower
Owner : Steve and Sylvia McHugh
General Contractor: Metropolitan Contracting
Interior Designer: Card and Company in collaboration with owner
Lighting Designer : Studio Lumina
Specialty Metals: Flux Metal Studio - Robert Diaz de Leon
Kitchen Design : Mission Restaurant Supply
Plumbing: SATEX Plumbing
Mechanical: Gillette AC Company
Branding: FÖDA
Photographer : Scott Martin, Marc Toppel

Awards

Power of Preservation Foundation : 2014 Outstanding Preservation Project

Press

USA Today : 10 Best Restaurants in San Antonio
San Antonio Express-News : Top 25 Restaurants in San Antonio
San Antonio Current : Day in the Life: Urbanist Design
Texas Architect July / August 2014: Working Artifacts

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