Vision Turned Reality for Bad Bunny & David Gruttman's New Restaurant & Lounge

1 SOUND Helps provide the pulse for recording-artist Bad Bunny and nightclub-mogul David Gruttman's new upscale 'it' restaurant in Miami, utilizing 1 SOUND Cannon C6 coaxial and CT28 three-way loudspeakers joined by SUB310 subwoofers and more.

Just weeks after it was announced, Gekko the new restaurant from superstar rapper Bad Bunny and mega-club mogul turned restaurateur David Gruttman and his hospitality group, Groot Hospitality, has made its splashy, celebrity-filled debut in Brickell.

The restaurant can house 185 diners across the indoor-outdoor space. Like most Groot Hospitality venues this space was designed by Rockwell Group and features jewel-toned decor, custom gold and red dip-dyed rope installation, graphic wall coverings, and velvet drapery and backlit cutouts and bars to enhance the nighttime atmosphere.

The goal of this upscale restaurant was to create an opulent atmosphere that captured people’s attention and kept their energy up to feel like they’re having a special night out. This directly correlated to Groot Hospitality choosing Anthem Productions with 1 SOUND loudspeakers to do the audio design and help create the atmosphere they sought for their clientele.

"I want people to feel wowed by Gekkō," says Grutman. "I want them to be blown away. Not just by the menu (which I love, by the way), not just by the lounge, not just by the room, but by the entire experience taken as one."

“We wanted to spark that feeling of energy you get before and during a night out.” - David Gruttman

For the audio design it was very important that no matter where someone walked they had to feel immersed and not be taken out of the experience, this meant the audio needed to be consistent with how it is distributed. Anthem decided to do a distributed approach using Cannon C6i’s throughout the restaurant relying on their bandwidth, consistency, and output capability. SUB310’s were distributed and hidden throughout the restaurant, they needed bass to be able to pump being that they wanted music to keep the customers energy up and feel like a club-like atmosphere in moments.

Music and audio is a significant ingredient in the recipe to create the wildly popular restaurants, clubs, and even hotels that have the Groot Hospitality label. Gruttman has built his brand off the most successful nightclubs in Miami. Between Gruttman and Bad Bunny, the atmosphere for Gekko had to have a refined high energy and great music. Anthem installed Contour CT28’s hanging from the wall utilizing the Contour Rigging System space where there are matte-black cathedral ceilings, vaulted above. These point sources have a medium-long throw with a great amount of energy and output (max SPL 145 dB). They have a beautiful clarity at high volumes that makes the high-end and vocals feel intimate and present. These horn-loaded loudspeakers gave the intimate, yet high-energy club-like atmosphere that Gruttman was seeking for this restaurant.

“Think of your go-to steakhouse. It’s familiar and personal. Then, imagine that with Japanese cuisine, too, and a Miami spin. Color, texture, great music. That’s what we’re aiming for with Gekkō,” he said.

The amplifiers used for this audio installation are Ram Audio Pi4-6k and Linea Research 44C10. These are two of the prestigious amplifier brands that 1 SOUND is proud to partner with. Each amplifier is approved to operate seamlessly with 1 SOUND loudspeakers.