Orlando | Tampa

POST+BEAM / A JOURNAL

Building Restaurants, Bars and Food Hall Concepts

By Megan Padilla

Covered outdoor bar with fireplace
Nona Blue is like two restaurants in one. The covered outdoor bar with a built-in fireplace allows for year-round use.

Over the past two decades, we’ve built our business and reputation on word-of-mouth and repeat clients, whose multiple projects have helped us become qualified subject-matter experts in designing and building restaurants, bars and food hall concepts. No matter what role we’ve been hired to fill, Interstruct cares deeply about great design, placemaking and truth in materials. Click to see our full hospitality portfolio.

Here are 10 reasons why you can trust Interstruct for your next hospitality project.

.01 OVERSIGHT

A member of the executive team is assigned to oversee every project, beginning to end.

.02 SENIOR PROJECT MANAGERS

Interstruct’s in-house team of professionals includes dedicated project managers with longevity and deep knowledge in the construction industry.

garage style doors with windows, brick bar with copper counter, polished concrete floors, open duct work
Hooch includes a lot of materials and design elements we love: exposed ductwork, copper bar top juxtaposed with brickwork, polished concrete floors and the wood/glass/metal combo of the sliding garage-style doors.

.03 SUBJECT-MATTER EXPERTS 

Ryan Young and Rich Monroe have built dozens of restaurants, bars and coffee shops since founding Interstruct in 2001. Projects have included national brands such as Chipotle and hyper local restaurants and bars that help make cities vibrant places to live. Current projects of note include construction of the food hall project called Bumby Arcade at Church Street Station in Orlando and Free the Cork Wine Bar at Sparkman Wharf in Tampa under the leadership of Interstruct president Matt Cotticchio.

outdoor restaurant and bar with exposed steel post and beam and steel frame
Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) like Three Points Bowling have been seriously upping their game to become buzzy, entertainment destinations. Interstruct loves #truthinmaterials and shows off the beauty of the steel post and beam structure.

.04 INTERIOR EXPERTS 

Interstruct was founded on high-end interior jobs. This is our sweet spot and we’ve played every curve ball possible in all settings, from building ground-up shells to repurposing existing buildings into food halls, restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

Interior of quick service restaurant. White tables, white chairs, padded banquettes, yellow order counter with menu board.
Quick-service concepts such as the Crepevine include an ordering counter, menu board, open kitchen, seating and an array of higher-end finishes.

.05 REPEAT CLIENTS 

We are proud of our long-term relationships with repeat clients who trust Interstruct’s knowledge, professionalism, problem solving, communication, deep understanding of permitting issues, partnership with valued trades and subcontractors, clean and tidy job sites, commitment to safety, adherence to schedules and budgets and on-time delivery of projects.

wooden structure suspended from industrial looking ceiling
A wooden geometric structure suspended from the cavernous ceiling creates more intimacy at the bar.

.06 SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE 

Interstruct understands the specialized needs of restaurant and bar construction that are related to water, gas and electric and the unique back-of-house requirements to support specialized kitchen and bar equipment.

White building with large red letters, Capital Tacos. Red picnic table in front as well as parking.
Interstruct Tampa built Capital Tacos in Brandon, FL (Tampa Bay).

.07 DESIGN + BUILD 

We are here to tell you, there’s a better way to build. Interstruct has developed a streamlined, single-point-of-contact design-build process that covers your entire project with a single contract. We guarantee that our design-build system will eliminate the headaches, heartaches and general BS from your restaurant or bar buildout.

View from above of large restaurant with white pillars and checkerboard floor and large bar and large windows.
Interstruct built both the original and the renovation (pictured) of Cityfish.

.08 ATTENTION TO DETAIL 

We are sticklers for craftsmanship, cleanliness and attention to detail. For instance, every open duct is sealed in blue plastic to ensure they stay clean until connected. Our electricians bend pipe like an artform. We like straight conduit and duct work. When you hire Interstruct, you get a high quality, professional job every time.

Interior of bar and restaurant with natural light and exposed mechanics. Wood bar, wood floor and wood table tops, grey columns and walls.
A warm mix of materials and exposed mechanicals combine to create a welcoming restaurant and bar at Jax Thorton Park.

.09 SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY 

Interstruct has always placed the highest priority on workplace safety and a clean, neat job site. A job site that is clean promotes a safe work environment and represents the level of professionalism that we demand.

Interior of bar with circus component decor
Sideshow is a bar in Orlando’s Wall Street Plaza.

.10 BUILDING COMMUNITY 

We are passionate about hyper local businesses, especially those in the food and beverage industry. We care about what goes into neighborhoods and also being a good neighbor during construction. We deeply understand the direct correlation between a dining establishment and its impact on local quality of life. Our restaurant clients trust Interstruct to begin the community building, even before there’s a menu. 

Stand alone retail plaza with white modern building and palm trees planted between parking area and building.
Chipotle and Starbucks anchor each end of this retail complex that Interstruct build in South Florida. Though hired as GC, we showed the client a revised, modern design that felt more in touch with the local vibe and the tenants’ brands. The client approved our design, which we also built.