Interior Design Photography | Central Kitchen
Corpus Christi’s downtown (like most) has featured a cafe in one form or another for the past twenty years. One location, in particular, blossomed in 2003 in the always-busy Water Street Market when a little bakery & coffee roasting joint called Agua Java opened its doors. Now, Agua Java is a distant memory for many of us, but now there has been a kind of rebirth of the downtown bakery by the restauranteurs behind Executive Surf Club, Oyster Bar, and Elizabeth’s. Early this year the backend workhorse bakery behind those forward-facing restaurants opened to the public to fill the breakfast void downtown. Central Kitchen began with a very soft opening much to the excitement of downtowners (and old-timers like myself - is 39 really that old?) The inviting warmth found throughout the space perfectly matches the classic French pastries, freshly baked bread, and classic cups of coffee.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to feel what this old space turned new was like. I can still remember a cold, late-winter morning in 2003 when I first set foot in Agua Java and plopped my laptop down on a sitting bar facing (then) William Street, and enjoyed a chai, a potato chip cookie, and the drizzle of rain as I worked on my second semester at TAMUCC. The email I received right after the new year with a photography inquiry would give me that chance to experience the warm charisma of this clay-block building from a whole new vantage - photographing the restaurant design for Houston, Texas-based gin design group.
I photograph spaces every day - residential spaces, that is. I always get nervous when it comes to commercial spaces, but haven’t really figured out why. Working with a design team like gin was an absolute breeze - they had the majority of staging completed after the close of business one day and we set to work getting all the angles. The decades-old character of 320 Lomax Street was embraced in the best fashion and placing the baked goods in such a way that made them front-and-center only further emphasized the amazing design choices. Best of all (in my opinion) is the use of a built-in wood oven for warming and toasting orders. It may not be quick, but this place, this space is just giving each of us an opportunity to slow down, catch our breath, and prepare to indulge in delicacy.
On another note, this space is a mixed-lighting hell when it comes to photography. With some daylight in some windows, tinted daylight in other windows, some 3k tungsten, and some imitation tungsten mixing throughout the space I knew I had some post-work ahead of me. We got down to business and worked from the courtyard to the street and back again. When the time was right, we took advantage of the golden hour sunlight spilling into the space through the window wall. Finally, I couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant evening to end things with just a little magenta in the sky.
Interior Design: gin design group
Construction: South Texas Building Partners
Graphic Design: MDR Advertising
Client: Central Kitchen | Waterstreet
Diner Space
Baked Space
Mixed Space
Street Space
Detailed Space
