New Kitchen: Retail Ready

My contractors have been hard at work in our kitchen and retail space getting things ready to go.  It’s been a long road for them because it seemed like every day we were switching directions or coming up with new ideas on how we could maximize the impact of the space.  Here is a quick and unsolicited plug for the hard working crew at Aspen Design- they are not only great in commercial settings, but have done superior work at our house too.  Plus, they are a green company which means that for all my projects, almost all of the work site waste was recycled or repurposed. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about this company and look forward to our continued relationship.

In the picture below, this is how we basically walked into retail portion of the space.  It was setup for carry-out and other food merchandising.  I don’t know about you, but to me it looked really drab.  The battleship gray wore on me every day I was in here.  The counter tops were stained and the cabinet doors were chipping.  After about a week in the front (the kitchen itself was getting cleaned during this time), I realized that something needed to change.  The next step was to figure out exactly what.

Ready for carry-out business... but not for us. Too drab. We need color!

While we were figuring it out, the thought process was to leave everything in the space in the event that we might need it.  What this led to was my contractors moving these heavy cases around way too many times.  We discussed changing the tops to butcher block, wrapping the laminate in stainless steel, making tables- you name it and we thought about it.  What was the final solution?  Getting rid of just about all of it.

This is a relatively tame picture- wait till you see what happened in the kitchen!

Finally we came to the decision that it needed to be bright and clean with a bit of industrial feel to it.  So we tore off the worn counter top, removed all the broken doors and hardware and got to work.  Along the way, I realized that the carry-out business is not something that we wanted to take on at the current point.  Out went the cold cases, the sandwich board and the huge checkout counter.  We might add take-out into the mix sometime in 2012.  Check out the blue on the wall- I love it.  All the cream walls were painted too- the entire place just looked so much better when it was done.

Nice- the blue immediately made a huge impact. The floor has its first coat here.

Here we go!  The counters are in and the doors are going back on.  The floor was painted and sealed which really cleaned up the overall look.  We took off the laminated shelves and installed some tempered glass shelves that I think look really sharp.  We are really close to being finished in this picture.

Pete and Mike from Aspen Design are installing the cabinet doors. Fresh and clean!

These next shots are of the completed retail and demonstration area.  All we are waiting for now is our 3X8 foot butcher block table to show up. Can’t wait for that bohemoth to arrive early next week.  We are working to stock up the shelves currently not only with cookware, but with locally produced items as well (think artisanal cheeses, house made stocks, hot sauces, jellies, pickled goods).  We are picking up our folding chairs and tables this weekend to be able to use the space for demonstrations, networking events and small seminars.  If you or someone you know is looking for space to use, give me a call or send an e-mail.

Up next, the butcher block table and pictures on the walls.

Ready for retail and demonstrations- looks good to me.

Up next is our virtual face lift.  Time to get the website moved around and reworked.  Well, no rest for the weary!  Before I go, I wanted to thank everyone for all of the support.  I think that we are working on something that has the potential to be pretty cool and different.  If there are things you would like to see us working on- shoot me a note!  Thanks again-