Gourmet Heaven – a green grocer, convenience store and sandwich shop – held a grand opening on Weybosset Street early last month. Designed by Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels Architects, there’s a lot squeezed into the 2,500-square-foot space.

Project manager Kristi Gelnett, an architect with DBVW, this week took a few minutes to discuss the store’s design.

PBN: What was this space like before construction started?

GELNETT: The interior space was previously a retail clothing store. Every surface was covered with dropped ceilings, a cosmetic layer of nonstructural walls and carpeting. From the outside, there was no sign of an original storefront. The ground floor level was stucco, face brick, solid storefront panels and very little glass. Since only the market location was restored, you can still see the former façade treatment on the rest of the building.

This was all removed back to the structure, exposing bare bricks, columns, beams and joists, creating a fresh canvas to create a new, historically appropriate storefront for the market.

PBN: How does the design assimilate the space into the neighborhood?

GELNETT: We worked with historic photos for the storefront redesign in order to match the original configuration as closely as possible. The overall design brings back the look and feel of a traditional, pedestrian-oriented downtown market. Awnings protect tightly packed fresh merchandising while allowing people to congregate and shop directly from the sidewalk. We reintroduced the traditional façade structure and signage that most downtown buildings once showcased. Russell Preston from Cornish Associates worked with DBVW extensively on this project. Site Specific Construction did a great job achieving the detail that the project required. Through Cornish Associates’ vision we have made great strides in bringing many downtown buildings back to life at street level.

PBN: In New Haven, Gourmet Heaven’s two stores have flower-and-fruit stands outside – has your design allowed for that in Providence?

GELNETT: Absolutely. Space was set aside along Weybosset Street for flowers and around the large corner column for fresh fruit. The market owner, Chung Cho, had these stands custom built, along with the extensive cherry wood shelving on the interior. Visitors need to come inside to experience the full effect that Mr. Cho has created. There is also room outside for seating under the new awnings.

PBN: This is a relatively small store that’s aspiring to be an almost full-service market; how does the layout pull that off?

GELNETT: The space is indeed tight, so everyone on the team needed to design efficiently to allow Gourmet Heaven the most area possible. In order to fit the entire program, part of the floor was lowered and a mezzanine was constructed to create more usable space. The view of the market through to the street is impressive from the elevated mezzanine seating. We created even more space by designing a large structural canopy for storage over the full open kitchen.

PBN: Tell me a little about using open shelving against the windows and what benefits that might have.

GELNETT: Designing open shelving in the storefront windows allowed Gourmet Heaven to maximize merchandizing from both inside and out. The fully populated shelving creates a unique look without restricting views in either direction. At night, track lighting on the inside gives the merchandise an inviting glow.