Small Areas pose a greater design challenge most of the time and this wasn’t the exception.

Our client tasked us with creating a retail / dining experience that went along with their ethos of “we are a butcher shop that happens to serve burgers” So we had to merge into only 20 sq. m. Two different operations, that of retail and that of dining. So the question was how do we implement fridges, ovens, POS, storage and cooking? How do we have people sit down to eat what is an expensive product but have them eat and leave fast so there is a bigger turn around and/or they end up buying the real product which is the Raw and Dried Wagyu beef to cook at home?

The entire storage line sits on the one wall we had available hidden behind mirrored sliding doors, that when closed give us the illusion of a bigger space. This allowed us also to place all heavy electronics, venting system, etc in the same place without access from the public making it a lot more efficient and cost effective. The main carpentry piece is a Tetris of connections, hidden storage and boxes that accommodate two ovens, two frying pans and a POS system. The ovens are open towards the public so they can see how their burger is being cooked, which was one of the requests from the client. Adjacent to this is the main fridge which is also a dining table, meticulously designed for people to eat fast and leave, the surface is purposely not flat and the chairs are pointy, heavy and somewhat uncomfortable so people can sit down but won’t stay for a longer time. Within this table is the custom designed fridges where the Wagyu beef is displayed and clients can stand around it to see what they’d like to purchase, or look at them while they eat, illuminated by artisan and hand made Colombian stone lamps.

Both the island and the chairs are upholstered in a stain resistant houndstooth fabric and it can easily be replaced without removing any parts. The island was also designed in a modular capacity for it to be taken away, replaced or fixed if need be without having to redo anything.

Lastly, this small butcher shop has become a beacon within the city for friends meetings and reunions, it has produced about 20 direct employments and a new standard in what a concept can be for a quick bite, which never meant fast food in this case, It is the highest quality of food and beef sold and served uniquely.