Ranchos restaurant American Clay – 2011 & 2012

Ranchos Concina, at 3910 30th street in North Park, San Diego, is a lively, colorful restaurant that serves delicious, healthy Mexican and vegetarian/vegan food. Ivonne, the owner, has an artist’s eye and has filled the space with interesting and beautiful objects.

In 2011, their landlord redid their foyer area and we were delighted to be asked by Rancho’s to make a new backdrop of clay plaster. As a certified green restaurant (www.dinegreen.com), Ranchos is dedicated to creating healthy, low-impact food for their customers wants to do so in a healthy, low-impact environment.

The base coat is American Clay Tucson Gold Enjarre and the second coat is a double and quadruple Tucson Gold mix with a skip trowel texture. We would like to thank both American Clay and Olive Branch Green Building Supply for donating some of the materials for this project.

Ranchos wanted people to see the plastering happening because they value it as an art form, so we plastered while the restaurant was open. We made some signs to explain what people were seeing. The sign says:

“What is clay plaster & why use it?  Clay plaster is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional plaster and paint.

Clay plaster is natural, non-toxic, durable and beautiful.  Unlike most paint, it does not contain VOC’s (harmful chemicals that are released during and after application).  The pigments used to color this clay plaster are natural and non-toxic, unlike the harsh chemical used to tint most paints.

Clay plaster can even help moderate humidity, inhibit mold growth, and contribute to better indoor air quality.  Its anti-static quality keeps it clean and it is easy to repair if damaged.  Clay is an abundant natural resource that takes very little energy to process into a plaster.”

In 2012, we were invited back to plaster another section of the restaurant’s walls and to do a clay plaster / natural paint mural on the ceiling.