Supermarkets don't have to be big barns with no style, polish or ambiance - as has been proven by Neville and Heather Brown when designing their new Fresh Choice City Market in The Crossing, the newly opened retail precinct in Christchurch.
Not only does this new style food market offer very competitive food prices, an impressive line-up of local Christchurch products, live music to shop by, and chandeliers, it also features a beautiful black polished concrete MegaFloor™, from Polished Concrete Ltd. The colour supplied is Dricon® Black oxide and a specialist concrete mix supplied by Canterbury Concrete.
Five years after the first conversation was had about building a new style of supermarket, in what was then the devastated CBD of the city, Heather and Neville have opened the doors in September to their new concept, Fresh Choice City Market.
“We have pushed the boundaries to a new level for a supermarket experience for our shoppers, and to encourage them to support Christchurch and the central city rebuild,” says Heather. “We travelled quite a bit throughout Europe while we were developing this model and came up with some exciting new ideas which we have used in our design.”
Heather says that a key part to the ‘feel’ they wanted to create for shoppers involved the inclusion of a black polished concrete feature floor. “We wanted something different from the traditional tiled floor used in other Fresh Choice stores. When we first started looking at what we wanted we talked with the guys from MegaFloor™ and looked at a few examples, including the Air New Zealand Regional lounge at Christchurch Airport which used a specialist concrete mix supplied by Canterbury Concrete. We made a few changes to the ‘Koru’ mix and come up with a unique blend which, now it’s finished, looks absolutely amazing.”
“We had some intensive consultation with the building contractor and the owners during the design process to finalise details such as mix design, slab design, grinding methodologies and the staging of the work, including proper procedures to protect the slab during construction,” explains Stu Hunter, New Zealand Brand Manager for Polished Concrete Ltd. “This floor is our MegaFloor™ High Street Premium 3000 grit finish which has resulted in very durable, aesthetically pleasing floor for our customer.”
“Aesthetics aside,” adds Stu, “polished concrete floors are environmentally friendly in that they act as a heat source in winter, effectively reducing the need for artificial heating, as well as helping create airflow through a building.”
With its live music, espresso bar, touch screen technology, compostable bags and extensive range of food and beverages, Heather and Neville’s FreshChoice City Market is certainly creating a buzz. “It’s the perfect place for someone to stop and enjoy a superb coffee at the relaxed communal table, or get yourself a caffeine fix on the run. For those that need to shop we have a lot of amazing producers and suppliers in Christchurch, and I think shoppers will love the convenience of having their products all in one place to enjoy while doing their usual shopping.”
With the new store open for nine weeks Heather says they have been really encouraged by the support and feedback they have received. “We are very happy with the end result. The atmosphere and the look, including our lovely black floor, is exactly what we wanted to create for shopper shoppers. We are very pleased.”
Customer: Neville and Heather Brown (FreshChoice City Market)
Builder: Southbase Construction
Flooring Contractor: MegaFloor™ from Polished Concrete Ltd
Location: The Crossing Retail Precinct, Christchurch
Products: Decorative Concrete
