Chef Javier Plascencia’s Bracero Cocina de Raiz, owned by Mexiterranean Hospitality, is a F&B concept in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood that aspires to be more than the typical Mexican restaurant. Designed by principals Barbara Rourke and Jason St. John of Los Angeles-based Bells & Whistles, the 7,500-square-foot eatery nods to the bracero program that began in 1942—a legal agreement to temporarily bring Mexican laborers (braceros) into the U.S. to work while American soldiers were fighting in World War II—which played a large part in creating California’s agricultural markets. 



“Mexiterranean Hospitality came to us asking for a regional space that reflected the farm culture on which the concept is based—definitely a departure from the stereotypical Mexican theme,” says St. John. “Wherever possible, we sourced vintage items from Mexico to stay true to the concept. Several pieces from Javier’s collection of books and décor also give it a personal touch.”


“We wanted to make a Mexican-themed restaurant that didn’t feel like a Mexican-themed restaurant,” explains St. John. To achieve an authentic cantina-style vibe, the team sourced a series of custom wood and slung leather-seated barstools from Tijuana before heading to Guadalajara, where they purchased much of the two-story restaurant’s furniture and decorative elements, including a group of antique farm tools hanging on a second floor wall, an installation of original bracero hats on the dual stairwell landing, and 40 wrought iron barstools with cognac leather seats.



Each unique—with wrought iron and milk glass details—light fixtures throughout Bracero date back to the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s in homage to Spanish haciendas. “Everything ties into Spanish Colonial style,” explains Rourke. “If you were a ranch hand or bracero, you would have used all of the materials found here.”

Distressed wood flooring and décor complement the design team’s use of Spanish Colonial-style Venetian plaster, which appears upstairs, along with a high-end agave bar and second kitchen. With one side that faces an al fresco patio, the marble-topped bar is fronted by a geometric pattern of concrete tiles fashioned after desert agave plants. Custom wood shelving with industrial steel bar crates was installed above.

“We typically try to talk the client out of a two-story space because we don’t want to separate the experiences,” says Rourke. “However, we knew we could differentiate here with the upstairs agave bar, where the idea was to create an open ranch feel.”



Building over an existing cutout that spans the height of both floors would have increased the restaurant’s capacity, so the team instead enclosed the space—which now displays a farm tool sculpture made in Tijuana—in glass.