Hospitality Design - April 2024 - 142

open table interview
The exterior of the upcoming Toca Madera
Miami location, shown in a rendering
A rendering of the bar at the recently announced
1587 Prime steakhouse in Kansas City
The airy dining room at Casa
Madera West Hollywood
Slated for early 2025, 1587 Prime, seen in a rendering, is a collaboration
between Monochome and the Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry
shares how Noble 33's concepts tap into his
background developing nightlife hotspots AV
Nighclub in Hollywood and CAKE in Scottsdale
and San Diego to woo diners with meaningful
nights out.
What drew you to the restaurant world?
When I was 15, I wanted to get a car, and my
dad told me I needed to get a job. The only job I
could get was as a dishwasher in a fine dining
Italian restaurant in Santa Barbara, California. I
barely saved enough money, but I bought a 1989
4-cylinder truck. I used to wash the dishes as
fast as I could, then I would run out on the floor
and watch what was going on. I fell in love with
the orchestrated dance. People don't realize all
the parts that need to come together to create the
right experience. That summer changed my life. I
continued to grow within the hospitality industry,
working from the bottom to the front of house.
What did you learn from the first venue
you opened, a Mexican bar in Denver?
It taught me the importance of theatrical
elements that drive what we consider today to be
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April 2024 hospitalitydesign.com
high-energy fine dining. If you boil it down, it's
the idea of dinner and a show. It's about giving
people an opportunity to choose where they
want to spend their time and money, as well as
an experience that makes them feel entrenched
in that environment. I always wanted to create
experiences that made people feel something.
Your time in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
running the Pink Kitty nightclub inspired
the launch of the Madera Group. What
did you want to bring to the U.S.?
In Mexico, we got our produce from the farmer's
market and fish came right off the boats. When
I got back to Los Angeles, I realized the way
most people thought of Mexican cuisine was
more Tex-Mex and wasn't representative of its
complexity. I wanted to introduce what I thought
was missing in the market-not just diversity,
but the importance of quality products in these
recipes. Toca Madera is our metropolitan-style
Mexico City steakhouse. It's darker, it's sultrier,
it's sexy. Casa Madera is our Riviera Maya version
of this idea: predominantly outdoors with tons of
landscaping that's just as inviting during the day.
How is Tocaya Organica, your veganfocused
fast-casual brand, changing the
F&B landscape?
It was the first all-organic, fast-casual concept
where everything on the menu was vegan but
also allowed for non-vegan add-ons. It gave us
this unique profile where there was not a single
thing on a menu that anyone wouldn't be able
to eat. We became a catchall for every type of
individual. Vegans protesting cattle cars in
Bakersfield, California would be sitting side-byside
with a non-vegan eating carne asada inside
the restaurant. It was this wild moment, and it's
something I've carried with me.
Why did you want to highlight
Mediterranean cooking with Sparrow
Italia and Meduza?
Israeli and Arabic cultures have so many
similarities. I wanted to showcase elements of
both, and bring people together. That's what
food does. It's [also] an evolution from nightlife-
sitting at a table, talking to people, sharing a
bottle of wine, having great food, and creating
longterm bonds.
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