Project Data:

Completion Date:     5/2/2025

Square Footage:      19962

Building Use:           Food Hall

Project Description:

Rodeo 72 is conceived as a food hall in the style of a public market. It contains 14 individual restaurant tenants and a large central bar with seating on all 4 sides. Soaring ceilings, large clerestory windows and 3 massive bi-fold doors create a strong indoor/outdoor relationship. Various types of seating are provided throughout the interior and exterior with ample opportunities to watch sporting events on strategically located video walls or to find a secluded niche.

Beyond the Architectural language, the goal was to create a venue that showcased a culturally diverse variety of top-rated culinary options, each with their own design identity. The result is a dynamic environment that is visually enticing, inviting, and accessible to the public from all walks of life. The venue has space for hosting live entertainment and serves as a gathering place for the community, filling a void that was long waiting to be filled for the City of Whittier.

The food hall resides within the former Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility complex, which is a California State Historical Landmark. The Developer relocated some of the buildings, painstakingly restored the property, and brought on local artists to assist with its design, including some who are former residents of the Correctional Facility.

The design of the building, interiors, and landscaping complement the existing landmark buildings and respect the scale of the neighboring homes and apartments. The food hall is within walking distance of several hundred residents and adjacent to other commercial retail and food venues that are part of the same development. This creates a synergy with the neighborhood fabric and provides amenities that were long lacking for the community.

Design for Integration, Design for Equitable Communities, Design for Economy, Design for Change, Design for Discovery 

Design for Integration
The project's design is in keeping with the overall style and scale of the neighboring community. Though a contemporary structure, its roofline and entrance moldings pay homage to the adjacent historic buildings that are on site, and to the adjacent residences. This provides a welcoming, residential feel that is also pedestrian friendly. Specimen trees in the courtyard and landscaping with indigenous plants provide shade for diners, while further blending the development into the neighboring residential community. The incredible street art and murals that are found on both the exterior and interior provide a sense of place, creativity and celebration of local Whittier culture. The giant bi-fold doors blur the distinction between the indoor and outdoor spaces and further the integration of the new building into the fabric of the neighborhood. The large plaza regularly hosts live entertainment, bringing the community and families together while providing opportunities for cultural presentations and entertainment.

Design for Equitable Communities
The Mayor's office, Planners, and Building Officials were all involved in working with the Developer to accommodate the overall development, including the Food Hall. Since the site, and especially some of the buildings on the site, are a California State Historical Landmark, the local authorities were proactive in working with the Developer to ensure the buildings were restored and the site was preserved to benefit the community and City of Whittier as a place to gather and provide amenities for local residents and visitors. The addition of the food hall provides hundreds of job opportunities, in addition to the revenue taxes generated by the sales and operations of the facility. The food hall and respective site area are significant improvements to the previous vacant and abandoned buildings and site. They provide public access and amenities for a broad spectrum of demographics and have been designed with universal access. A wide array of seating/furniture types, some more private while others designed to accommodate groups of varying size, are provided both indoors and outdoors. This also allows the facility to be used year-round and become an extension of the local neighborhood.

Design for Economy
One of the strategies of the project was to get multiple uses out of one space. As a food hall that provides entertainment, the project offers a place to gather, have multiple options for high-quality artisanal food, and also be entertained by watching regular live performances.

Design for Change
The project was designed for easy adaptability. Each tenant space has the basic requirements to build an operational kitchen for most restaurant users so if one tenant closes shop, another one can open in its place with a minimal amount of down-time. This allows for a sustainable revenue stream for the developer and opportunities for fresh/relevant concepts to take the place of a previous tenant concept that has lost its luster.

Design for Discovery
Multi-tenant restaurant projects are challenging due to overlapping MEP services for each tenant. We would approach the power and water heater strategies differently for future projects, to help mitigate various needs. Food service vendors require a minimum of 400 Amps of power, even for the smallest program, so knowing the exact power requirements for each user, during the design phase, is imperative (some vendors required sub-panels). Though there is a desire to go all electric, that is not feasible at this point in the food service industry due to health department requirements and equipment availability.

Completion Date:     5/2/2025

Square Footage:      19962

Building Use:           Food Hall

Location:                 Whittier, CA