La Roca

La Roca is Downtown Winnipeg’s new muy caliente Mexican restaurant and nightclub. It features elevated Mexican cuisine, tequila flights, live Spanish music, DJs and two awesome outdoor patio areas.

This was a Tractus design/build project featuring a full restaurant renovation, three bars, an office, staffrooms, a 750 sq. ft. rooftop patio and a separate 1600 sq. ft. ground level patio.

The design mixes traditional Mexican imagery with an urban industrial twist: tons of wood, polished floors and lighting clouds emerging from an open ceiling. To bring it all together, we used a ton of reclaimed wood, put a lot of thought into the outdoor landscaping and even utilized Corten metal panels on the exterior that will rust over time adding a cool grungy look and feel.

We came in on time and on budget, and succeeded in designing a banging nightclub that doesn’t feel like one during lunch or dinner. Functionally, the whole project is a success. Aesthetically, it’s a true standout in downtown Winnipeg. 

Challenge

The sheer size of this project coupled with an extremely tight timeline.

Solution

This was our largest job to date and the schedule was very aggressive from design to opening. The solution was our entire team taking an “all hands on deck” approach. We completed the entire process in 7 months, with designers and crews working every weekend, and some trades working from 4am to midnight.