For the past decade, Nicomia has enjoyed the opportunity to join the Whole Foods design and construction teams to bring over 75 one-of-a kind grocery experiences to the public in the Southern Pacific and Rocky Mountain regions.

At the Tempe store, our scope was to provide a complete turnkey project; from establishing budgets, developing SOPAC team’s design concepts, interfacing designs with architectural plans, generating engineering and working drawings and – of course – meticulous fabrication and installation of millwork, cladding, décor elements, signage & graphics, wallcoverings, fixtures, and furniture.

The design development and fabrication process for each element offered our team endless opportunities to do what we do best; invent creative solutions. The store is a mixed media wonderland: routed tectum & color inlay panels, cork & tack studded patterns, geometric facades pierced with LEDs, and overhead graphics interfaced with wood and acrylic requiring layer upon layer of detail.

Extensive millwork sets a warm foundation for the mixed media applications comprising an array of custom soffits and walls clad in a rich combination of walnut veneered panels and planks. We continuously monitored site dimensions and noted changes, incorporating revisions as needed so that site modifications were almost nil. Our team meticulously mitered, merged, and manipulated each piece into a seamless, organic form.

Destinations for eating in and imbibing that are not just incidental, make this store much more than your standard place to buy broccoli. Its “Be Tempe Happy” vibe absolutely personifies the hip, urbanized destination this once sleepy, eclectic college downtown has become.