Design

Hidden beneath Mercadito Chicago is Double A Lounge, a subterranean mixology bar that accommodates an intimate 60 guests. The entrance reflects the shadowy, underworld feeling of Chicago’s Prohibition parlors, with a massive wood door that features a sliding square peephole. Designed with an open floor plan, rich chocolate leather banquettes line the perimeter of the room and stone-topped tables allow for flexible seating options. The centerpiece of the space is a custom-built “inside-out” bar, which provides not only a strikingly dramatic focal point but also offers guests a perfect vantage point for watching the mixologists in action.

Seed Design captured the neighborhood’s industrial feel by stripping the ceiling and walls of years worth of construction to reveal the raw materials beneath. Dark wood-paneled walls and small filament bulbs enclosed in steel mesh above create the intimate ambience, and the owners' private collection of rare, premium tequilas is displayed on shelves circling the space, backlit against smoky mirrors.