KALDI’S AT THE EUCLID

Moving into a brand-new, modern building, the Kaldi’s team wanted their coffee shop to have an aesthetic to match. While reflecting the cool sophistication of the larger building, our designers strove to make the shop a balance of warm and and chic. In single-source project delivery, we accomplished this with a palette that fused a graphic Italian feature tile with the timeless warmth of walnut.

One of the biggest challenges of the space was the 18” elevation drop inside the restaurant from the sidewalk. This affected lighting, accessibility, and seating heights in the space. At the entry, the approach to the ordering counter is a long ADA ramp. Our team worked to create “stadium seating” starting at the window with dining height seats, and terminating in bar height seating towards the back of the restaurant. A concrete curb wrapped around the south and east walls, and we took advantage of it by designing a comfortable but low-profile bench with integrated power on top of the curb.

The space features layers of lights, creating a rich street presence from the pedestrian-friendly sidewalk. The large chandeliers visually anchor the space, and smaller pendants of the same finish and shape float at the storefront and above the “concrete curb” seating on the south wall. Kaldi’s signature cheerful orange is carefully integrated into the space in retail shelving at the front door, and in the overstitching pattern on banquette seat backs.