Restaurateur and designer Juan Santa Cruz has a knack for the theatrical. The Chile-born, Swiss-educated founder of Santa Cruz Co. made his mark with Casa Cruz, a sumptuous supper club with outposts from New York to London to Buenos Aires. His newest concept, Obvio, distills that cinematic vision into a moodier stage.
Here, Surface speaks with Santa Cruz to get the scoop.
Your design references everything from your own travels to Africa to Elsa Peretti. How did you go about pulling inspiration?
My design process is quite different from most; I’ve never made a mood board in my life.
Usually I begin with symmetry, but Obvio was particularly challenging due to the L-shaped layout. If I tried to make everything symmetrical I’d lose about 40% of the space. So I grabbed a Sharpie and began drawing curves, sketching out the walls and the bar.
Then I started envisioning the decor, and I kept coming back to my yearly trips to Africa. I wanted that tonality: gold, brown, dry green. From there, I designed the shape of the furniture, chose the upholstery for the banquettes, and selected the burl veneer for the tables.
Everything in Obvio is completely bespoke—except the seating upholstery. That’s the one disadvantage of not working with a moodboard. I have a photo image of exactly what I want, and to achieve it I have to make everything from scratch. I don’t do it on purpose, I just can’t help myself.
What’s up with the giraffes?
I knew I wanted animal print, but tiger and leopard felt too obvious. Giraffe is quite abstract and hit on the sensations I wanted. It felt rich and glamorous but never distracting. I worked with weavers in Italy to get the scale and colors just right. I wanted you to experience the texture up close, but if you step away it feels as if you’ve jumped into a pot of honey.
You’ve cited several film references as well, from Blade Runner to The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. What elements of the design were inspired by film?
Films play a large role in my designs, especially at the beginning. When I start a project, things from my memory begin to creep in. With Obvio, it was Harrison Ford’s apartment in Blade Runner, the colors and textures.
A lot of thought went into crafting an atmosphere. What part does lighting play?
Everything needed to be flattering, the lights and colors all designed to enhance how you look. I typically use silver oil lamps to get this effect, but open flame isn’t very practical. I happened to be in Venice for a friend’s wedding, so I went to Murano and asked for something with an old-school New York feel for the table lamps. We had already gotten to work on the wall lights, and the light temperature needed to be an exact match. Quite a bit of work with two different producers, one in Texas and one in Italy, but they made it work.
What’s the ideal soundtrack for the space?
Anything composed by Giorgio Moroder. That late ’70s, early ’80s synthesizer sound is a perfect fit for Obvio. I want the music to envelop you, but I don’t necessarily want you to remember the songs, just the sensation.
The cocktail menu has a strong Latin influence. How did your team create the menu?
I didn’t want to be too prescriptive with the menu. My parameters were classic cocktails that were low on sugar without sacrificing flavor in beautiful glassware. Beverage Director Amy Racine told me agave is the “thing” right now, so we worked in some tequila and mezcal.
Tell us about the uniforms. What was the ethos behind both the lab coats and the pit-crew style coveralls?
I’m a big F1 fan. I’ve wanted to use overalls for the servers all my life, but I never found the right spot. Casa Cruz is more formal, traditional even. Here, I felt like I could loosen up a bit. The lab coats were inspired by Maison Margiela employee uniforms and by a Valentino documentary I watched, where the embroiderers did their work in lab coats. Making sophisticated drinks at that level is like being in a lab.
