Full-service design firm RDC has unveiled its designs for Erewhon, Silver Lake, the latest in a series from the organic grocer and café in the Los Angeles region. RDC is architect of record for the new Silver Lake location, designing its interior space plan and adapting the building for Erewhon’s expanded footprint (12,000 square feet plus outdoor seating area). RDC also recently designed Erewhon’s Santa Monica market, and will open a new Studio City property in 2021.
The design partnership will extend to Beverly Hills and Culver City, where conceptual designs for new markets are underway. With the popular organic grocer in expansion mode, it has chosen RDC to craft its new spaces from complex properties and locations.
“As with our past work, we took a site that was difficult to plan, but ideal in terms of surrounding demographics, and turned it into another classic Erewhon: bright, attractive and multi-functional,” said RDC Associate Principal Terry Todd. “Erewhon has a proven strategy for success and we’re happy to express it in these dense, urban locations.”
Photo credit: RDC
The Silver Lake store is in a newly built multi-level, mixed-use property on Santa Monica Boulevard near Sunset Junction. It offers an exhibition kitchen, a pizza oven, and prepared foods in addition to fine organic grocery. The store has relatively large spaces for indoor and outdoor seating, creating the feel of a restaurant and activating the property’s wide sidewalks and breezeway that separates the space into two areas.
“The building’s retail level was originally designed to house up to six retail spaces,” said Todd. “RDC creatively modified it into one store with multiple uses.”
The interiors were designed with custom-made brick, tilework, and wood millwork. This tailored approach helped to simplify the installation process and elevate the store’s organic yet modern feel.
Photo credit: RDC
The Silver Lake location is the sixth Erewhon in Los Angeles. Working in conjunction with leasing/construction management firm Slated Projects, Erewhon’s sales volume per square foot is estimated to be far higher than most other grocers. With the company in expansion mode, the new locations will also rely on RDC’s knack for transforming spaces that are rejected by traditional markets.
“The Erewhon strategy is to excel in locations that may not have loading docks or acres of parking – traditional grocery store demands – but deliver a sophisticated, urban clientele,” said RDC Job Captain Elise Kunihiro working with Erewhon. “That’s our expertise as well: solving space problems or adapting funky buildings to best render the company’s identity.”
“Brick and mortar retail tends to be a formulaic industry, but that is not us,” said Erewhon Chief Development Officer Yuval Chiprut. “Attractive but difficult settings that most groceries avoid because of site constraints are often where we do best, in large part because of the design ingenuity of RDC and Erewhon.”
Apart from Erewhon, RDC’s previous work in specialty markets includes Ralphs Fresh Fare in Sherman Oaks, Beverly Hills Bristol the Beverly Hills Bristol Farms (in the former Chasen’s restaurant) and the new Co-opportunity Market in Culver City.
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