Culture Qualifications

Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Toshizo Watanabe Culinary Cultural Center

Los Angeles, CA TYPE: SIZE:

Tenant Improvement & Change of Use 9,700 SF

Celebrity chef Andy Nakano was selected to oversee the build-out of a new restaurant and culinary center in this historic,1960's era building, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. With no existing plumbing and mechanical systems in place to support a restaurant or culinary arts facility, a full gut/remodel was required. Challenges included the addition of grease interceptor and as the grease waste system was below the level of the city sewer system in addition to adding a grease exhaust system from this sub-terrain level. The project had extremely challenging conditions with low head space, tight ceiling plenums and limited space for HVAC equipment. The project team mitigated a lot of potential risks with detailed as-builting of the space prior to design.