Mexico. Professionals in the restaurant industry know very well the importance of having a good sound system that offers audio quality, power and coverage. In addition, the most experienced, seek that these systems are automated, intuitive and easy to operate so that their staff focuses entirely on customer service.
Such is the case of La Canasta, a renowned Mexican restaurant, which recently renewed its audio system with the help of the audiovisual solutions integrator AVINTECH, who designed a complete solution with Bose Professional technology, which highlights the use of the ControlSpace Remote application to manage its operation through mobile devices.
La Canasta is part of the history of Saltillo, a thriving industrial city located in northern Mexico. After its inauguration in 1965, La Canasta was established in several places, and it was in 1970 when it found its ideal location. A large space with large windows, touches of wood and red brick, which has been decorated with a variety of Mexican handicrafts from different regions of the country. Since its inception, it has stood out for combining a pleasant atmosphere and a creative cuisine that offers new dishes, of which some have become true classics of the region.
In 2019, the management team of La Canasta, headed by Ramón Alejandro Aguirre, co-owner and executive chef, decided to renovate its spaces and modernize the audiovisual system to offer a better customer experience. The project was commissioned to AVINTECH, a local integrator with extensive experience in AV solutions for restaurants. "We were asked to meet several objectives: to use the best available technology, to ensure that the speakers were subtly integrated with the interior decoration, to create a pleasant environment that allowed conversation and that the system was very intuitive to facilitate its daily operation," explains Héctor Martínez, general director of AVINTECH.
As in other projects, AVINTECH decided to use Bose Professional technology to integrate this solution in which it used speakers of the FreeSpace and Panaray series, PowerMatch and FreeSpace amplifiers, ControlSpace processors and the ControlSpace Remote application.
In addition to the restaurant area, a new mixology bar and a beautiful terrace, La Canasta offers private and semi-private rooms for holding events. So the designers of AVINTECH decided to distribute the audio in four different zones to achieve the necessary coverage and control.
The new space in La Canasta is the Copper, a bar specialized in mixology, designed to attract a young clientele. The Copper works as an independent audio area, as it offers a different musical programming and a higher volume level compared to the rest of the restaurant. In addition, it has a small stage in which live bands are presented. In this first zone, FreeSpace DS 40SE speakers were used in conjunction with Panaray MB4 speakers, as reinforcement for the bass frequencies, and a PowerMatch PM8250 amplifier to provide the necessary power.
In the remaining three areas, a wide variety of FreeSpace speakers were used: terrace (FreeSpace DS 40SE), restaurant area (FreeSpace DS 16SE), private and sanitary rooms (FreeSpace DS 16F), which, due to their compact size and design, both for ceiling and surface mounting, were ideal to integrate subtly with the elements of the decoration. For these areas, AVINTECH relies on the FreeSpace ZA 2120-HZA amplifiers for their extensive configuration options.
"To manage the four zones, we used ControlSpace ESP-880A processors and installed the ControlSpace Remote application so that the La Canasta team can control the system easily through various mobile devices," says Héctor Martínez.
The entire system is managed through the ControlSpace Remote application, from volume levels, equalization or the selection of audio sources, to a series of parameters customized according to the operating hours and the restaurant area. With the help of controlspace designer programming software, AVINTECH designed an intuitive interface that is very user-friendly. And if necessary, new interfaces can be modified or created according to the audio needs of La Canasta.
"We had very little time for the installation and configuration of the system, so bose Profesional's software tools were a great help in speeding up the process," says Héctor Martínez. "This allowed us to devote more time to the Copper bar system, which required more work because it was a totally new space in which all the details of design, image, lighting and sound were taken care of," adds the director of AVINTECH.
The directors of La Canasta were very satisfied with the new audio system, both for the sound quality and for the ease of use. "This is the fourth project we have worked on with AVINTECH, as we always seek to have the best possible audiovisual environment," explains Ramón Alejandro Aguirre.
