Ace Cafe Orlando
Discover Crunchy Tech's innovative AV and video wall solutions at Ace Cafe Orlando, the first of its kind in the USA.
- Client
- Ace Cafe
- Location
- Orlando, FL
- Industry
- Restaurants
- Scope
- AV Integration
- Completed
- 2023
Project overview
The First Ace Cafe in the USA: Over 100 Speakers, 31 Displays & a 15-Foot Screen
Ace Cafe chose downtown Orlando for its first American flagship. Nearly 80 years of rock 'n' roll and motorcycle culture, dropped into a 14,000-square-foot complex that works as a restaurant, bar, fine art gallery, retail shop, and offices all at once. We built the audio and video that carries the whole room.
The system runs more than 100 speakers, 31 large-format HD LED screens, and a 15-foot retractable projector screen, and the staff drives all of it from one iPad. Morning coffee crowd. Live show at night. A customer flipping through gear in the shop. Every part of the building had to look and sound like the brand.
Project challenges
Scaling Audio and Video Across a Multi-Use Complex
The hard part was the building. This isn't one room with one job; it's five very different spaces under a single roof, and each one needs its own sound and its own screens without splintering into disconnected systems. Balanced coverage everywhere, one way to control it. That took acoustic planning before anything went on the wall.
The open ceiling made it harder. With no ceiling tiles to trap and aim the sound, we mapped speaker placement by hand to keep it even from the front bar to the back office. The retractable screen carried its own puzzle. Fold cleanly into the architecture when idle. Drop down as a showpiece the second a live event starts.
Understanding the client's needs
A Visual Brand with an Authentic Soundtrack
The venue lives on look and sound. The brand carries decades of rock 'n' roll and motor culture, and the system had to earn that heritage: live shows, motor-centric broadcasts, and the everyday buzz of the room, whether a guest is grabbing coffee, sitting down to dinner, or digging through the racks.
The second requirement was just as firm. Staff had to run it themselves. Zones and screens mean nothing if a bartender needs a technician to change a channel. Management wanted professional-grade performance with consumer-grade simplicity, driven from one tablet, no technical background required.
Technical solutions
One platform, integrated subsystems
| Technology partner | Components | Role in project |
|---|---|---|
| Audio System | 100+ speakers, multi-zone amplifiers, audio processors, wireless iPad control | Delivered balanced sound coverage across restaurant, bar, gallery, retail, and office zones |
| Video Displays | 31 large-format HD LED screens, commercial-grade mounts | Provided high-visibility visual content throughout the venue |
| Projection System | 15-foot retractable projector screen, HD projector, motorized rigging | Created the centerpiece for live events, broadcasts, and brand showcasing |
| AV Control | Centralized control system, wireless iPad interface, zone management | Ran every zone from a single tablet, anywhere in the venue |
Implementation methodology
Coordinated Design-Build Execution
We followed our signature design-build AV methodology, starting with the acoustics. The open ceiling set the terms, so we mapped placement zone by zone to hold even coverage. Each area runs on its own, and the zones can unify on command when the whole venue moves as one.
Displays went in where the sightlines mattered most. The centerpiece screen was custom-fit to the architecture with motorized rigging, so it commands the room for events and tucks away when it's done. We kept the control simple on purpose. The people running it every night aren't AV engineers, and they shouldn't have to be.
Audio, Video, Projection, and Wireless Control Integration
We built it as one platform: distributed audio, commercial video, a projection centerpiece, and a single control layer holding it together.
One system, five zones
Every piece answers to the same brain. The speaker array splits across independent zones, coverage tuned for that open ceiling. The screens and the drop-down centerpiece put visible content everywhere it belongs. The control interface is the part the staff actually touch: full command of every zone from anywhere on the floor.
Results & impact
A Flagship AV Experience for America's First Ace Cafe
The finished system does what the brand demanded. It looks and sounds right from every seat. Balanced audio holds across the venue, and the screens carry the visual identity, from motor-centric programming to live events, through the whole complex.
Best of all, the room belongs to the staff. They shift audio and swap video on their own, no technician on call. Guests get a space that feels like the brand from the front door to the retail counter, whether they're in for a quiet morning coffee or a Saturday-night show that shakes the walls.
Finishing the project
Setting the Standard for the Ace Cafe Brand in America
This project demonstrates Crunchy Tech's ability to deliver large-scale, multi-zone AV across a complex entertainment venue. Distributed audio, commercial video, motorized projection, and one intuitive control layer, delivered as a single platform by one accountable design-build team. That's the kind of build that carries a brand's identity instead of just decorating it.
It also set a template. As the brand grows across the country, this flagship marks what the audio and video should feel like: living, loud when it needs to be, and simple enough to run on a packed night.
Opening an entertainment venue that has to sound as good as it looks? Book a discovery call with Crunchy Tech, and we'll map what your space could do before you compare a single bid.
Crunchy has done an amazing job on our A/V install. The Ace is a very visual brand, and has an authentic soundtrack of almost 80 years of rock 'n roll to boot, so we had to make sure we had the right company onboard to help bring it to life. We've got 31 hi-vis LED screens, a projector and a giant drop-down screen. The sound is perfectly balanced throughout our many zones, and the entire system is super simple to use... The system is a great way to celebrate the spirit, history and culture of the Ace, as well as showcase all the cool motor-centric broadcast programming that our fans love.
Watch the install
Project video
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