EAST LANSING, Mich. — BIGGBY® COFFEE is excited to announce their newest coffee shop design, the Jakarta design! This new design is bright, airy, and effervescent. Meant to meet customers where they’re at in their day, the Jakarta design was created to deliver an unintimidating, warm, and safe environment.
Designed as a way to bring other parts of the world to BIGGBY® coffee shops, the Jakarta design was largely inspired by the coffee shops BIGGBY® COFFEE co-CEOs Bob Fish and Mike McFall saw when they visited Jakarta, Indonesia. As they walked the streets of Jakarta, Fish and McFall frequented a handful of coffee shops, and while they were all unique one thing rang true through all of them—they were energetic, bright, happy, and welcoming. As they visited these coffee shops, Fish and McFall found a vision for the new look and feel of BIGGBY® COFFEE shops throughout the nation.
With an idea and direction in mind, they quickly got to work on the new design. With the help of a Japanese firm that worked on the designs in Jakarta, and the Store Development Manager, Jeannie Cleary, at the East Lansing, Michigan, BIGGBY® COFFEE Home Office, Fish and McFall set to create a design that encompassed the BIGGBY® COFFEE standard where each coffee shop should feel welcoming and approachable, where every person should feel safe in a universal and inclusive environment, and where all demographics feel at home.
“Our intent has always been to be welcoming, approachable, universal, and for everybody. It’s not exclusive, it’s inclusive. We want all demographics to know they belong,” Fish said.
Fish and McFall noted that one of the main difficulties in creating this design was ensuring that the design reflected the BIGGBY® COFFEE belief system. With beliefs like “When you love the world, the world will love you back,” “Everyone deserves to feel special,” and “Coffee brings people together,” Fish and McFall have made a deliberate effort to ensure that all these beliefs can be felt the minute customers walk in the door until they walk out.
Fish and McFall noted that one of the main difficulties in creating this design was ensuring that the design reflected the BIGGBY® COFFEE belief system. With beliefs like “When you love the world, the world will love you back,” “Everyone deserves to feel special,” and “Coffee brings people together,” Fish and McFall have made a deliberate effort to ensure that all these beliefs can be felt the minute customers walk in the door until they walk out.
“We always wanted it to be a place where when you walk in it’s like you get injected with energy and positivity,” McFall said. “[Like you] walk in and it gives you a little boost!”
This aligns with the coffee concept’s main purpose which is to help support people in building a life they love. As they continue down the path of being a safe environment where everyone is welcome, BIGGBY® COFFEE intends to be a company that focuses on the people within their coffee shops and community. With an intent to build people up and help people achieve their life goals, BIGGBY® COFFEE strives to create a custom experience for each of their customers as they work toward building a life they love.
In order to make each experience unique and bring people together, the design features four different seating areas: standard tables and chairs that sit 2-4 people, soft seating, a community table that fits 6-10 people, and pods that fit 1-2 people. Each space is designed with a purpose for different levels of comfort and activity. The community table, which acts as the main focal point in the coffee shop, is meant more for people working out of the office; this space is supposed to feel like a space where they can get their work done in an alternative environment to the office or home. Between the large sleek table, overhead lighting, and electronic outlets, this space is the perfect equation for getting work done away from the office. The soft seating, on the other hand, is meant for those that want to sit and stay, sipping their coffee and perhaps staying for a few hours. These comfortable chairs give people a home-away-from-home feeling and invite customers to sit and enjoy their stay. The standard seating acts as a good spot for a group of people to meet and chat, study, or work together. The most popular seating area, however, are the pods. These semi-private areas give 1-2 people the space to have privacy, but still feel somewhat connected to something other than themselves. With a warm light above them and a spot to plug in their electronic device, this is the perfect space for someone to work, make a phone call, or have some private time with the opportunity to engage with those around them as they choose.
“We made a real effort in this look to do some things that are progressive and meet customers where they are at in their day. The four different areas of the store provide different levels of comfort for where they’re at in their day,” McFall said.
Though some things have disappeared like the bean wall, they will be replaced with grab-and-go coolers, where those that are on the run can quickly grab some fuel for their day and keep moving. This is all in an effort to continue to meet people where they are at in there day and provide people on the run more options.
The design features warm teal and orange colors, contrasted with sleek black chairs and lighting, and soft wood tones. A modern take on a checkerboard floor leads customers down a path from the entrance right to the register where they’ll be greeted with an energetic smile. On the counter customers will also see a lava lamp, gifted to owner/operators directly from Fish and McFall. These lamps are an effervescent, fun, and an inviting feature of the coffee shops.
While BIGGBY® COFFEE has made an effort to create a bright, fun, and airy design, it’s not feminine like may be seen in other bright store concepts; but it’s not dark and masculine as seen in others, either. This new design is meant to be fully inclusive and really appeal to everyone. As a way to be fully inclusive and a safe environment for all, these coffee shops will even have gender neutral bathrooms where legally accepted.
As BIGGBY® COFFEE plans to blast off over the coming years in increased sales and more store openings, customers will see new imagery on the walls featuring a rocket ship and space scene. These designs showcase just a glimpse of the transformation BIGGBY® COFFEE plans to make as they strive to launch themselves into being the number one coffee concept over the coming years.
Customers can see the new Jakarta design at the Michigan City, Indiana, store, and coming soon to Celina, Ohio, and East Lansing, Michigan, locations.
