The latest addition to Jersey City’s booming culinary scene, Los Cuernos opened its doors in February 2019. Andrea and Phillip Barraza, the husband and wife team already known for the popular Taqueria Downtown, were the masterminds behind the new eatery. The 5,600-square-foot restaurant and cantina delivers an upscale take on Mexican cuisine in a fun atmosphere.

To set the mood across Los Cuernos’ main bar, dining room, secondary dining room/special events area, mezzanine bar, and outdoor patio, the Barrazas chose a décor of vintage movie posters, photos of rock n’ roll legends, and murals of Mexican icons. In addition, they wanted audio and video to play a key role in the guest experience, with both distributed throughout the space. To turn their vision into reality, the Barrazas turned to New York-based integrator Mattera Design Inc.

Mattera outfitted Los Cuernos with Epson projectors and Dragonfly motorized screens in the main bar and special events area, in addition to a 75-inch Samsung display in the main bar and 55-inch Samsung display in the mezzanine bar. Video sources — including an Apple TV, two DirecTV receivers, and a Blu-ray player — are distributed to the projectors by RTI’s VHD-8 HDBaseT video matrix switch, in combination with four RTI VXT-LR HDBaseT long range extender sets. The VHD-8 allows for seamless switching of any source to any display in any zone. To simplify installations, the unit’s HDBaseT outputs allow Mattera to send power and video signals via a single Cat6 cable.

For high-quality audio — and the ability to play it at extreme levels if needed — Mattera utilized QSC commercial-grade speakers and an 18-inch subwoofer, driven by Crown amplifiers. Music is provided by an iPhone or other auxiliary device connected to RTI’s RSP-1 remote source wallplate, or can be streamed via a Denon HEOS audio system. Both sources are distributed throughout Los Cuernos by RTI’s AD-8x audio distribution system.

With numerous servers and staff using the AV system daily, control was a key concern for the Barrazas. They would need the ability to easily send any video source to any screen, and swap between audio sources. Furthermore, the Barrazas wanted to provide servers with local audio and video control in individual zones, while offering master control over all zones, sources, and screens from the bar. To meet these needs, Mattera relied on solutions from RTI.

“RTI was a one-stop shop for this project. In addition to the company’s extensive range of audio and video distribution solutions, the RTI control platform has the ability to bring a variety of components together into one unified system that is extremely easy for anyone to use,” said Joseph Mattera, owner of Mattera Design. “While Andrea and Phillip were more familiar with other manufacturers, they quickly saw the value in an RTI ecosystem with its reasonable price point, high reliability, and extensive customization capabilities.”

Los Cuernos’ control system is powered by RTI’s XP-8v control processor, which commands the Epson projectors, Dragonfly screens, AD-8x, and VHD-8 via RS-232; video sources using IR; Denon HEOS system with an IP driver; and four Crown amplifiers via relays. KX3 3.5-inch in-wall touchpanels located in the main dining room, secondary dining room, and mezzanine provide servers with control over audio and local video. A KX10 10-inch in-wall touchpanel at the main bar allows staff to view the powered state of any zone, the source playing, and the volume level — in addition to footage from a Luma CCTV system — while enabling them to make changes on the fly.

To prevent downtime and ensure a seamless experience for Los Cuernos’ customers, Mattera is remotely monitoring and supporting the system using RTI’s RTiQ remote management platform. RTiQ allows Mattera to monitor all main RTI equipment on the network and trigger “trouble-shooting events” to restore proper operation if staff presses a wrong function or accidentally shuts off a component they shouldn’t. Mattera is taking advantage of remote monitoring services as a recurring monthly revenue opportunity for his business offering extended service programs for an affordable monthly fee.

“The Barrazas have been completely blown away by the ease of use of their control system and how seamlessly sources flow. It took very little training to get staff up and running on it,” added Mattera. “Furthermore, they are very pleased with the remote management capabilities of RTiQ and how quickly we are able to respond to issues. With RTI, we’ve been able to take their ideas and translate them into reality, and they couldn’t be happier with the result.”