LAS CRUCES TEX-MEX

PROGRAM: New Restaurant, Bar, Event Space and Courtyard

STATUS: Complete

PROJECT TEAM: GOAT (Architecture and Interiors); Schrenk Endom & Flanagan LLC (Civil & Structural Engineering); Synergy Consulting Engineers (MEP Engineering)

Just off the busy Airline Highway corridor, outside of New Orleans, the Las Cruces Tex-Mex development is a brand-new dining and entertainment experience that opened in September 2023 from the folks behind Central City BBQ. In response to a challenging, post-industrial, triangular site that has remained vacant for years, GOAT developed a massing strategy that maximizes and prioritizes outdoor space for drinking, dining, and play.

The cruciform plan creates a large, open play yard and outdoor dining space while dividing the interior into two primary functions—dining and events—with the kitchen located at the hinge point between the two forms. To maximize the utility of the volumes created by the massing strategy, the design plan incorporates a private dining mezzanine overlooking the bar and dining room.

GOAT team: Paula Bechara, Peter Spera III, Colin VanWingen

The bar at Las Cruces Tex Mex (photo courtesy of Ryan Gootee General Contractors)

The site utilizes a network of swales and large expanses of permeable surface to hold storm water and reduce the runoff burden on the Old Metairie neighborhood. Native planting augments the architecture and soften the edges of the post-industrial site, while the back property line is defined by a series of stacked cargo containers, linking it to the railway that runs parallel to it.

The palette on the interior is simple and industrial, allowing the custom millwork and lighting elements and urban-inflected artwork to take center stage.

This project offers guests a high energy, family friendly dining experience unlike anything else currently offered in the New Orleans area.