The latest example of how useful Twitter can be when it comes to self-promotion comes from design firm One Method, whose head honchos tested the possibility of going into the restaurant business by opening a taco stand called La Carnita inside their offices at King and Spadina during the lunch rush today. In a little more than an hour, they saw 125 customers and sold all 375 of their tacos.
But technically speaking, ahem, for the legal people out there, the firm’s design director Andrew Richmond explained they were selling limited-edition art prints made by One Method designer Matt Webb (which customers receive with their $10 payment at the door) and just so happen to be throwing in three tacos on the side—chicken, pulled pork and chorizo created by Richmond himself and assembled by the firm’s staff and friends (including one of the chefs from Bloordale’s Ortolan restaurant).
“There’s a lot of design fundamentals that go into cooking,” explained Richmond. “You have to use contrasting colours in addition to flavours to make it appealing. When you open a restaurant, you also have to develop a brand and a logo.”
The idea came up four months ago when the firm’s head people — Richmond, creative director Steve Miller and president Amin Todai — were trying to open a restaurant on a budget but were worried whether it’ll take off. “By doing this, it’s an easier way to test the ground and build a following before we open anything,” said Todai. “We only started tweeting about it on Tuesday and revealed the location this morning.”
There will be more pop-ups in the summer (the goal is to host them twice a month) and rotating artists designing the numbered prints… which of course, is the real reason more than 100 people were lining up this afternoon.
