Durango’s Remodel: Brick Brick Brick

By Mandi 01/27/2015

You might remember that we are currently overhauling our family restaurant Durango’s Mexican Grill. (You will most definitely remember if you are in St. George and a frequent customer because the restaurant is still open for business!)

There were a few main goals when the reno began. Open it up, update the vibe. The first project in was the facade wall (you can read all about it here!) the next big project was to take out the overhead walkway and brick everything!

Screen Shot 2015-01-27 at 10.09.54 AM

We (Court) demo’ed everything in a day and we’ve been working on getting it spruced up ever since.

The plan? White brick. I know what some of you are thinking. “Wont you have to clean it more if its white?” The answer is obviously yes, and honestly is that really a bad thing?

It is pretty fantastic when the stars align for a project. I was over at the bestie’s house talking about reno ideas and told her about the plan for brick and how I had no clue where to source it (this is when I was planning on laying it myself because I am the type of person that underestimates the scope of a project 10 out of 10 times.) Guess who’s family has a company that does exactly that? You guessed it! If you are in Southern Utah and itching for some brick/rock work you will want to call Squire at Quickstone Inc. 435-632-5272 they have been AWESOME to work with.

Working on a space that will be used by thousands of people is really different than working on a house. EVERYTHING has to be highly functional, highly durable and highly cleanable. The original plan was to have the brick mason’s make the brick white, but there were a few problems with that. The whitest that it can be made was a really light beige (see picture below). It would also need to be sealed afterwards (so that it could be wiped down) and it was more expensive because of the materials that had to be used to make it whiter.

White Brick In Restaurant-7

After going over the situation, we decided that it would be better to have the masons make it as inexpensively as they could and then we would paint it after it was installed. This fixed all 3 problems. The paint was white, the brick was sealed (and if some annoying teenager decides to draw a wiener on the wall we can just touch it up) and it was less expensive.

So the brick went in! (We are in the middle of replacing the ceiling tiles and prepping them for paint so don’t mind that little situation.)

White Brick In Restaurant-2

What a huge difference right?!

Screen Shot 2015-01-27 at 10.09.54 AM

 

The brick also behind the counter and on the giant pink arch (don’t worry, we are taking out those windows and planter boxes too…someday…)

White Brick In Restaurant-3

 

For paint I decided to use Sherwin-Williams Super Paint in High Hide White (if they don’t have that color at your local SW its just 3 oz of white pigment added to the extra white base)

White Brick In Restaurant

 

We decided to paint before the grout went in because I want a little bit of color variation that I could control. Once the grout is in, the plan is to roll diluted white paint over the whole wall again to soften the grout lines and make it look nice and old. but painted. but still old. You know what I mean right?

White Brick In Restaurant-8

White Brick In Restaurant-4

I am beyond in love with it. Makes me want to put it in my house….

 

LoveYourGuts14

10 thoughts on “Durango’s Remodel: Brick Brick Brick”

  1. Hey Mandi! Did you have to do any special treating or cleaning stuff to the brick before you painted? I have a nice rough stone fire place in my house but the color of the stone really makes me cringe. I’ve been wanting to paint it white for FOREVER but couldn’t find a lot of info on the process. Thanks!
    and btw if i was independently wealthy i would totally buy you that house! It’s so cute! and the windows seriously made my heart pitter patter!

    1. Hey Kara!
      We didn’t because it was so new. Depending on the type of dirt there are probably a few different ways that you can clean it. If its more dusty I bet that just warm water, dish soap and a scrubby brush would work. If its more greasy Home Depot sells a cleaner called TSP that is awesome. I’ve never used it on brick but I have used it on wood and its totally safe for that, so I would imagine that brick would be fine! You are the sweetest!!

      xo
      m

    2. Kara my friend just did her’s all white and said it is a lot of arm and hand work but was worth the finished look and is loving it.

  2. When I lived in Petal a few years ago, the Durango was a favorite restraunt of mine. So nice to see it again. I wish one would open up up here in Salem Oregon. LOVE the new look!

Leave a comment!

Keep the conversation going! Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.