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holding images of Jesus and scripture verses. "We did wonder how people might feel about it," he says. "We worried they might think we were being disrespectful. We actually contacted a church offcial for an opinion. When a church is no longer a church, what happens to the stained glass imagery? He told us it's simply art, so that helped to ease our concerns." Other items in the church were repurposed as key design elements. Wooden pews, for instance, were cush- ioned and fashioned into comfortable banquettes; the original cedar ceiling was cleaned and resealed; and cande- labras were converted to electric light fxtures now used at the bar. The space itself, which measures roughly 4,100 square feet, is a simple, open rectangle with high ceilings. "Being a Methodist church it was very simply designed, basically right angles and an empty box," says Micheletti. "The land- lord put in new HVAC and electrical, and with that done we didn't encounter any of the diffculties or surprises that are typical on most conversion projects." The biggest challenge, Henrich adds, was putting all of the equipment required for the kitchen in place without altering the open feeling. "We didn't have a fat ceiling or any place to hide things, so we ended up building a struc- tural platform behind the high back bar, which separates the front of the house from the back," she says. "Nobody sees it, so it worked out well." What people do see once they enter Taco Guild for the frst time typically elicits "Wow!" reactions. They know they're entering what used to be a church – that's very much apparent from the exterior, which was simply sandblasted and cleaned up and which still carries a cross atop its arched stone steeple tower. But most new guests are unprepared for the total visual effect of the interior conversion. In addition to the existing stained glass windows, interior design highlights include a giant chandelier that hangs in the center of the room. Made of bands of black iron that encircle 96 candle-style lights, the fxture measures 9 feet in di- ameter and its bottom hangs 15 feet from the foor. Large murals line the tops of the walls overlooking the main dining area, which, in addition to the repurposed pews features freestanding and communal tables. A large, custom-made curved banquette provides separation between main dining and bar areas. Murals Add Warmth, Whimsy The murals, in particular, help to create the type of rich yet fun, slightly quirky look and feel that bring the Taco Guild concept to life. They also help to add warmth and a sense of intimacy to a room whose ceilings are well in excess of 20 feet high. 5 0 • R E S T A U R A N T D E V E L O P M E N T + D E S I G N • M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 5 Reuse. We reused everything that we could. The fooring is the original concrete foor, just cleaned up and resealed. We just cleaned most of the walls and did minimal repainting. Most of the décor items and many of the furnishings are repurposed. We went to salvage shops and if something looked cool we grabbed it, not even knowing what we were going to do with it. The whole design founda- tion was purposeful reuse. People look around and go, "Wow, that's cool. I've seen that before but now it's this." Peek-a-boo kitchen. The back bar is in front of the kitchen and you can see through portions of it from various parts of the restaurant. It's interesting and you see some action through the backs of the shelves, but it's not technically exposed. It's the game everyone plays – people can see what you want them to see. And with the side entrances open, you could walk right back there and see it all, but it's not an open kitchen, per se. Restrooms. We had to bring the bathrooms up to code, and refnished them in contrasting styles. The women's room is pretty and high- lighted by these tiles that have a Renaissance kind of pattern that goes great with the guild concept. We left the men's room largely as it was; we just resurfaced some rough plaster with simple, functional white tile reminiscent of the 50s or 60s – the old high-school bathroom look. And we found these funny pictures of dogs in uniform – dressed as generals and admirals – that we framed and hung in there. The frames cost more than the pictures, but the whole idea in every area was to make it fun and unexpected. Design Insights JANET HENRICH, Henrich Design A u-shaped bar sits where the church's altar once stood.