"Opening Thursday, Baby Grand includes a 35-foot faux rock wall, a 20-foot waterfall, a Mediterranean restaurant that feels like a Greek ruin being consumed by a jungle and a hidden oyster bar full of crystal and mirrors. All of this, including the Spanish statuary, Moroccan fixtures and Murano glass, is squeezed onto an Orange Avenue lot that once held a 1950s motel. If Liberace had run away with an art historian, they might have landed here."
"The idea was "to create this little mirage within the mirage that is Coronado," said Arsalun Tafazoli, founder of CH Projects, the group behind a multitude of design-intensive establishments across San Diego including the speakeasy Raised by Wolves, the hi-fi listening bar Part Time Lover and the Middle Eastern restaurant Leila. Baby Grand's high-density, high-gloss environment, which cost about $17 million and took about five years to complete, will come as no surprise to those who have followed Tafazoli's earlier ventures."
"Asked about the design philosophy behind the 2023 renovation of the Lafayette - the company's first hotel - Tafazoli had a simple answer: "More is more." The Baby Grand project, put together in collaboration with design studio Post Company, is cut from the same cloth, describing itself as a "polychromatic pastiche" on its website. The goal, Tafazoli said, is to enrich Coronado's culture and give people a respite in an anxiety-ridden time."
"But "it is different," he said. "I don't know if it is going to be embraced." Getting the necessary city permissions "was definitely a struggle," Tafazoli said. "Had I known how difficult this was going to be, I don't know ...""
Baby Grand is set to open in Coronado with a highly decorative, high-density design costing about $17 million and taking about five years to complete. The property includes a 35-foot faux rock wall and a 20-foot waterfall, plus a Mediterranean restaurant styled like a Greek ruin overtaken by a jungle. A hidden oyster bar features crystal and mirrors, alongside Spanish statuary, Moroccan fixtures, and Murano glass. The project fits into a small Orange Avenue lot that previously held a 1950s motel. The concept aims to create a mirage within Coronado’s existing mirage, enriching local culture and offering a respite during anxious times, while acknowledging that acceptance may be uncertain.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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