Cali Press, (short for “California Pressed” juice) is an Australian juicer and cafe concept originating from Melbourne. Our clients acquired the New Zealand rights for the brand and, after setting up a small juice factory, needed to establish a retail outlet for their products. Their first site was in Graham Street in central Auckland. They proposed to create a new design concept for this which would reflect, not only elements from the Australian fit-out, but also the very simple and pure nature of the products they offered as well as convey the mood of California and its emergent health-focussed cuisine and lifestyle.

We set about designing the interior, which is quite a tight space given the amount of room needed for food storage and prep. We came out with a simple plan which uses essentially one long stainless steel prep bench (with most of the equipment and much of the storage under it), and a white service bench. The palette is very simple: blonded wooden floor, plywood, walls and joinery, floor white tiles, white laminate cupboards, black steel detailing and stainless steel equipment and workbenches. Decoration is by way of a Californian palm-tree mural that we had custom painted on the back wall and some simple signage. Seating is limited but is mainly to a bench seat running down the left side and some spaces in the window area, mainly for customers waiting to pick up their take-out orders.