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By funkhaus
One aspect of Studio Luz’ wheelhouse is supporting the unique culture of an area by offering a variety of services that support hospitality businesses and local entrepreneurs. From established commercial and retail businesses to those in their beginning stages, we’ve offered these culturally significant businesses our expertise with the design of their spaces and the subsequent implementation — in some cases, we have worked with them to rethink how we use the tools at our disposal to help them navigate different stages of business.
Chocolaffee’s Instagram feed shares their journey to opening the business.
During and immediately after the pandemic, there was a surge of urgency to help local businesses and entrepreneurs in new ways. Studio Luz is proud to have been able to adapt to the shifting needs of clients and to offer different ways to access and use architecture services, using creative methods like designing for shared spaces. One hospitality project that we were able to support via a shared space framework was Chocolaffee, a cafe owned and operated by Angelica and Diana, two Colombian sisters and entrepreneurs. The sisters currently own and operate 3 separate business ventures in Revere — ManiNuts, Las Parceritas, and Chocolaffee — and have traveled as far as the mountains of Manizales, Colombia, in pursuit of the best quality coffee. Our work with them was part of the Shirley Ave Revere Shared Space Pilot Program, funded by MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) and managed by TDI fellow Laura Christopher.
Studio Luz Project Manager Elise Zilius interviewed the Chocolaffee founders about their business goals on a site visit.
Chocolaffee recently celebrated the grand opening of their new storefront, where they share their passion for excellent coffee and delicious treats with Revere locals. In our work with them as part of the Shared Space Pilot Program, we developed conceptual design schemes that captured the possibilities for the space, to support their business’ unique needs and to promote growth.
Our Pilot Space Plan for Chocolaffee includes versatile space for all their businesses.
Businesses and entrepreneurs like Chocolaffee infuse the traditions of their culture into their storefronts, helping to establish the unique characteristics of a neighborhood. Design can facilitate that sharing of culture. To support this cultural exchange, Studio Luz worked alongside these hard-working entrepreneurs to conceptualize their business models by offering them visualizations of their new shared spaces that are reflective of their identities and can assist them in executing their business plans. Our resulting scheme for their new space functions as a vibrant new cafe, complete with custom millwork that provides counter seating and retail product display that will showcase their treats and coffee menu.
Studio Luz created a series of visualizations that helped inform Chocolaffee’s future design and business strategy.
Congratulations to Chocolaffee on their new storefront — we look forward to watching them continue to grow, evolve, and contribute to the culture of their community! Explore more of Studio Luz’ award-winning commercial and retail projects here.