Mathew's Restaurant
Brooklyn, New York
Some projects belong to their owners in a way that goes beyond the usual client relationship. Mathew's Restaurant — the rebuild of the beloved Brooklyn Cuban restaurant La Conguita — is one of them. Owner Matteusz Kopec's ambition, vision, and personality are present in every detail of the space, from the light fixtures overhead to the cutlery set on each table.
DATE
2018
TYPE
Hospitality & Retail
SERVICES
Architecture
This was his project. Andrés Cortés was there to make sure it could be built. Serving as Executive Architect, Andrés coordinated a design-build collaboration that brought together an accomplished group of contributors — among them Kevin Greenberg of Space Exploration, whose interior design work has produced some of the most distinctive and warmly inhabited spaces in New York, alongside Rowhouse's Eric Powers, Graphic Designer Drew Heffron, and a constellation of skilled craftspersons and culinary professionals.
The role was one of enablement and coordination: holding the technical and logistical threads together so that Matteusz's vision could move from conversation to construction without losing anything in translation.
At the center of that work was the commercial kitchen — the beating heart of any restaurant and the place where design decisions have the most direct consequences for the people who work there and the community they serve.
Andrés worked closely with Matteusz to coordinate its design and specifications, ensuring the kitchen would perform at the level his culinary ambitions demanded and continue serving its dedicated patrons for years to come. A neighborhood got its restaurant back. That's the work.
