El Torito was founded in 1954 and strives to be the authority in great Mexican food. As a local iconic brand in the Mexican food segment, the new ownership was looking to give the brand a modern and updated look, while keeping the iconic authentic Mexican theme alive. Along with the goal for refurbishing the brand and color pallet, ownership understood that the current condition of the Monterey, CA building could become unsafe in the near future and they wanted to invest into upgrades and deferred maintenance with a primary goal of providing a safe dining experience.
These updates would also allow for increasing revenue and same store sales throughout the execution of a well-designed and well-planned interior and exterior renovation program.
The task of refreshing an older restaurant appeared simple on the surface, however SCGWest and ownership would soon discover hidden issues beneath the building. Major issues from the lack of maintenance from previous owners caused the building to become structurally unsound. It was discovered that the main support members underneath the kitchen area had deteriorated to point of no return and taken main plumbing lines and electrical lines with them. These areas had been band aided for years and not discoverable from visual inspections.
With this newly gained knowledge and increased scope of work, SCGWest and Ownership went into planning. The goal was to minimize the closure time of the restaurant and expedite any inspections that could hold up city approval. SCGWest and its team of engineers met with city officials to understand exactly how they wanted to see the rehabilitation performed, drafted plans and details accordingly and went to work.
Prioritizing planning and understanding the owner’s objectives is key to crafting a successful project outcome. With crews working day and night, SCGWest consulted and managed nearly 40 outside vendors suppliers, engineers and specialty contractors to complete the El Torito of Monterey, California seismic structural retrofit, ADA compliance upgrades and the brand refresh scope all within 30 days. The confidence in SCGWest allowed the owners the flexibility to work on further business-related tasks while trusting the work to be completed timely and cost efficiently. As a result of the upgrades, El Tortito realized an increase of 24 percent growth in same-store sales within months of the completion of the project.
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