Dynamic Design

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Dynamic Design

By Tammy Mastroberte

Single-store owners in the convenience channel may not have the buying power or resources of their large-chain counterparts, but when it comes to standing out among the crowd, they definitely have a leg up.

Not having to follow the structure or design of a multi-store chain, independent retailers can let their imagination run wild and create unique store designs that brand them in their market, and offer something distinctive to their customers.

This is the case with the new Towns Mart on Mile Road in Washington Township, Mich., which opened December 2007. The three partners -- Laith Hanna, Steve Nalu and Brian Harmis -- wanted to test a new prototype with a unique setup.

"The location is a shopping center with a convenience store in the center," said Nalu, one of the owners. "We have four units leased, two on each side of the store, and there are two drive-thrus, including one at Tim Hortons."

There are 24-foot ceilings, which capture customer's attention as soon as they enter the store, explained Nalu. "The first thing they do is look up because the ceilings are so high."

The partners wanted to create a high-end, upscale environment with an outdoor look and feel, and hired D/Fab design firm in Madison Heights, Mich., to create a custom image.

"We wanted it to have a sophisticated outdoor look, and D/Fab came up with a design that made you feel like you are outside," Nalu said.

The store's interior design reflects a contemporary spin on a classic European style, and the objectives were to offer a warm and inviting shopping environment for customers, while highlighting the cooler wall, coffee station and hot food products in the store.

The Marathon Oil-branded, 5,000-square-foot store layout provides a large day-lit entrance and spacious aisles to create an "airy atmosphere and easy-to-shop retail space," according to the design firm.

While the overall design itself reflects classic European style, contemporary touches are found throughout. The walls are painted a warm yellow with cream, green and khaki accents, and the dark blue ceiling and upper walls fade into the background to enhance the merchandise floor plan below it.

"The blue was chosen to look like the sky," Nalu noted.

Following the theme of classic, but contemporary, the tops of the walls near the cooler feature decorative pediment shapes combined with contemporary frieze, or sculptured graphics to look like grass. These graphics also are used on custom HVAC covers and on the perimeter walls.

Additionally, striped canopies and stylized old-world wall lettering draw the eye to the products in the cooler, and a walk-in beer cave is found in the rear of the store.

To complement the color scheme, the floor is covered with earth-toned ceramic tiles, and the designers paired granite counters with dark wood cabinets throughout the store for areas such as the coffee bar, where a counter-mounted canopy brings focus to the coffee island. Black fixtures lend "traditional, upscale touches to the interior," the design firm stated.

Coordinating T-bar signage is mounted to the top of the gondola shelving to direct customers to the appropriate sections of the store, and the perimeter walls are labeled as well. And to define the checkout area where there are two cash registers, a bulkhead is used on the ceiling and a changeable signage rail system attaches to it to let customers know what services are available.

On the environmentally friendly and cost-savings side, energy-efficient lighting is used, and augmented with day lighting from large windows on the front of the building, along with skylights.

"Natural light creates a warm sunny store interior, as well as reduced energy costs to light the interior space," according to the designers.

Other "green" design features include motion-sensor light switches in the restrooms, automatic front doors and ceiling fans, which aid air circulation.

Since opening, the c-store now offers liquor, and two new businesses, a Sprint cell phone store and a hair salon, were added, said Nalu.

"We decided to test this prototype to see how the design would run, and so far it has been successful," he said. "We would like to expand into Chicago in the future, and maybe open two or three more locations like this."

REMODELING HISTORY

First opened in 1965 as a full-service truckstop with a restaurant and motel, Gasper's Travel Plaza, owned by Ron Atkinson in Kingdom City, Mo., was originally 20,000 square feet. But 42 years after Atkinson's grandparents opened the doors, he decided to knock it down and rebuild it from the ground up.

"The old building was more of a traditional truck stop with a 360-seat restaurant, and we needed to have more curb appeal and really get into the travel center business," said Atkinson.

The new travel plaza is now 8,000 square feet, and reopened in July 2006, with design and construction done by Septagon Construction, based in Sedalia, Mo. And to keep the history alive, the front entrance of the store features a plaque paying homage to Atkinson's grandparents, given to the owner by his staff.

The inside of the store utilizes a modern color palatte of gold, tan and red to give the design a rich image. Beige, glazed ceramic tile floors, black countertops and wooden cabinets are used throughout, including at the cashier's counter.

Outside the store, landscaping features bushes and trees between the gasoline and diesel lanes, and park benches create a sitting and smoking area. Additionally, decorative bushes and plants line the drive-thru at the adjoining Arby's restaurant, and a tall wooden fence conceals the truck garage area.

"I thought it was time to change and get into the fast-food business instead of a 24/7 sit-down restaurant," said Atkinson, who designed the center himself and had the architects translate it onto paper.

"The main goal was to have a big, open format with more square footage devoted to the store and wide aisles," he said. "I wanted to avoid the typical c-store clutter, and I wanted extra large bathrooms and back-up bathrooms for times when the main bathrooms were being serviced."

The layout of the property utilizes both sides of the plaza to accommodate the different needs of diesel truck customers compared to gasoline customers.

Diesel customers have their own fuel lanes, and enter from the north entrance of the property, paying at the counter on the north end of the store -- which features trucker supplies and accessories along the shelves in that area. The public restrooms and showers are also located on this end.

In contrast, gasoline customers fuel their vehicles in the front of the convenience store, and can pay at either of the two cashiers near the front entrance, while larger public restrooms service these customers.

A complete line of snacks and beverages fill the aisles in the main store, which were purposely made spacious with four-foot shelving to provide an "open-air feeling," according to the company. A coffee and soda fountain bar stretches the length of the main store, and includes a coffee station at the end of each counter.

Gasper's also offers a wine cellar area featuring Missouri wines, with a center display made of a wine barrel and a mural of the Missouri winery. The Arby's restaurant is located next door with entrances from the front and within the c-store.

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Dynamic Design
Without the pressure to represent a chain or franchise brand, single-store operators have the opportunity to create unique and innovative store designs.