2025 Southwest Best Projects
Award of Merit, Interior/Tenant Improvement: True Food Kitchen Headquarters
True Food Kitchen Headquarters
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Award of Merit
Submitted by RSP Architects
Owner True Food Kitchen
Lead Design Firm / Interior Design RSP Architects
General Contractor Jokake Construction
Civil Engineer KBell Engineering
Structural Engineer PK Associates
MEP Engineer Energy Systems Design
Project Manager Cresa
Furniture Consultant Complete Interior Systems
Key Subcontractors Alpine Mechanical; J&B Acoustics; RMJ Electric; Transact
Fresh, vibrant and rooted in employee wellness, this 18,520-sq-ft headquarters prioritizes openness and flexibility, creating a mix of collaborative spaces, private offices and workstations to support a variety of workstyles.
The reception space is inspired by bar areas found in the company’s restaurant locations, and it is filled with special touches that reiterate the firm’s history and brand.
A prominent gallery wall features artisanal cooking utensils, images and sketches of popular menu items, greenery, pressed herbs and a playful picture of the company founder.
The project team’s communication and willingness to think outside the box was best evidenced midway through the project when the client requested the addition of a complete test kitchen that would be located in a space unequipped with standard requirements for such a facility.
To make the kitchen operable, coordination with the local gas utility and building owner was critical to bring natural gas into the building within the required timeline. The space also required an exhaust and grease duct as well as makeup air to qualify as a fully certified and licensed kitchen.
Implementing this change within the same project budget required planning adjustments coupled with extensive value engineering, resulting in a strategy that retained originally designed high-impact elements, with other features reassigned to a future project phase.
