Supermarkets Honored for Innovative Design

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Two independent supermarkets are among a select group of retailers being honored next month at the National Association of Store Fixtures Manufacturers’ annual Retail Design Awards in Las Vegas.

The first of the two winning projects in the Grocery Store category is Cosentino's Market in Brookside, an upscale format in Kansas City, Mo. This formerly rundown store was gutted and remodeled in 85 days with the help of Associated Wholesale Grocers' Design & Décor Source Group. The new store includes fiberglass mouldings finished to resemble wood, Venetian plasters, marble mosaics, and a watercolor mural depicting the neighborhood. Concave soffits, parapet walls, and perimeter lighting visually expand the 23,546-square-foot space. In the entry, a cast-glass logo changes colors, while in the deli, moving graphics change as customers walk past.

The other Grocery category design winner is Home Economist Market, an 18,000-square foot natural foods store in Charlotte, N.C., designed by Little Diversified Architectural Consulting in Charlotte. Home Economist Market was looking to reposition its brand in the organic grocery market. This new prototype incorporates a new logo, fixtures, signage, and décor, with design elements adaptable to multiple store configurations. Low-profile shelving provides storewide visibility, while a farming scene and landscape murals by a local artist define product zones. The store also features wood floors.

In total, 45 awards will be presented in 15 categories to the winning architects, designers, fixture manufacturers, general contractors, and retailers on March 21 in the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Twenty-eight projects will receive either an Outstanding Merit or a Grand Prize award in the store and shop categories, with one Grand Prize recipient taking home the "Store of the Year" award. Fifteen "Store Fixture Awards" will be recognized for innovative individual or fixture groupings, with one named "Fixture of the Year."

The NASFM received its highest number of entries ever for this year's awards -- 234 in total. There were seven entries in the Grocery Store category.