Display & Design Ideas – November 2005
Italiano Classico
By Gareth Fenley
When a New York produce
wholesaler decided to open an Italianthemed gourmet retail market, the
owners decided to commission Lind
Design International of College
Point, N.Y., to head up its design.
Lind Design is a small creative firm
that specializes in design capabilities
for budget-conscious clients in the
independent grocery business. The
partnership worked so well in creating
a 7,000-sq.-ff. store six years ago
that when a 34,000-sq.-ft. space in a
Long Island mall became available,
the owners saw an opportunity. They
decided to take their successful smallstore concept, named Uncle Giuseppe’s
after a favorite relative, and supersize it
to launch a chain.
“We went out to field measure the
space, and it was just bare walls,”
recalls Gary Lind, principal of the
design firm. “[The site] had been
empty for a number of years.” The
new store opened its doors in June
in Smithtown, which is located on
Long Island. The store sits in a busy
commercial neighborhood with major
supermarkets nearby, but the owners
believed they could thrive amid the
competition by making their market a
unique destination.
“The big guys in the industry are
located close to us, but we have a
vision based on seeing what people
want,” explains Uncle Giuseppe’s
owner Thomas Barresi. “We offer
the old fashioned with a new way of
shopping. We see Uncle Giuseppe’s as
the ambassador of food. Everyone loves
Italian food. The concept is, if you
want to eat well, you come to Uncle
Giuseppe’s.” In fact, the slogan of the
store is “Qui si mangia bene!” – Here
one eats well!
With a budget of more than $5
million, Barresi and partners Philip,
Carl and Joseph Del Prete (all
brothers) were committed to make the
Smithtown market a destination with
not only an outstanding retail offering,

but also a suitable environment to
match.
Shoppers enter Uncle Giuseppe’s
under a Roman arch painted with
images of clouds and sky. “It is food
heaven,” says Lind. The store is filled
with the enticing aromas of gourmet
food being prepared and cooked on the
premises by chefs, from conventional
favorites to exotic choices like stuffed
rabbit, pheasant and roasted suckling
pig. Sentimental standards by Italian
singers play continuously, featuring
artists such as Frank Sinatra and Tony
Bennett. The 24,000-sq.-ft. sales area
spreads out in a gourmet paradise of 60
perfect fresh foods with a mezzanine
above for offices.
“We had a wealth of research to work
with,” says Lind, who has visited Italy
10 time and has a large stock of photos
of Italian design. Sam Burman, vice
president of planning and design for
Lind Design, contributed even more
ideas, and together they came up with
ways to give the space an authentic
and spectacular look. To keep costs
under control, standard fixture lines
and products were used wherever
possible, but the store abounds with
customization as well as décor, signage
and graphics fabricated in Lind’s own
shop.
Much of the interior décor consists
of Italian iconography, which helps
bring the Mediterranean culture to
this American grocery store. Inspired
by Roman ruins, a hand-painted frieze
inscribed with Italian and English runs
around the perimeter of the interior.
A colonnade rises over the produce
cases. Instead of an ordinary dropped
ceiling, there is a hand-painted sky in
the manner of Tintoretto. A 48-ft.long, hand-painted mural of St.
Peter inspired by one at the Vatican
is behind the meat counter. The gift
island is topped off with pediments
and décor to imitate flames.
More than 300 linear ft. of cases
are devoted to fresh deli, cheese and
prepared foods, including 90 ft. with
service. Salamis and cheese hang above
the counters to tempt the shopper. The
produce department abounds with
400 linear ft. of fruit and vegetables
selected for top quality and priced
competitively. Meats are sold in 108
ft. of multi-deck, self-service cases
and a 36-ft. service counter staffed by
butchers slicing to order. The store has
a 32-ft. full-service seafood counter
complete with a lobster tank. Other
offerings include a bakery; and island
with chocolates, candies and gifts;
a coffee department with seating; a
carvery and grill; a small dairy and
frozen food department; a cold beer
department; and a selection of pastas,
olive oils, vinegars and other Italian
grocery staples.
“We used warm colors and earth
tones throughout the space,” says
Burman. “They are popular because
they are complementary with food
products.” Real tumbled stone is used
on the walls in a luxurious touch not
typically seen in supermarkets. Parterre
floor tile with a terra cotta look recalls
the tones of and old Roman street.
Even the marble public restrooms are
deluxe, resembling what might be
found at an upscale Italian restaurant.
“The owners were looking for
something special,” says Burman.
To give the fixturing a rustic look,
the Lind team specified a hammertone
finish on the metallic shelving.
Another extra touch is seen in the
lighting design, which is ceramic metal
halide spots that brighten the produce.
Compact and linear fluorescent
sources are used elsewhere. “It is often
difficult to get the exact lighting we
specify on our projects, because we
have to compromise,” says Lind, “but
in Uncle Giuseppe’s they went with
what we selected because they wanted
something outstanding that would
attract people from miles away.”
All the counter millwork, checkout
lights, aisle markers and other graphics
are custom designed and fabricated by
Lind Design. “We all put our hearts
into this,” summarizes Lind. “It was
more than just another project. We
are very proud of it.” Burman says he
enjoys watching customers in the store.
“They really look forward to shopping
there,” he says. “When you walk in
smelling food, all your senses are
aroused. You experience the aromas,
the samples you can taste, the music.
When you want to spoil yourself, that
is where you shop.”
“We’re really excited about the store,”
says owner Philip Del Prete, who
suggests that it looks like it costs twice
what was spent. “It’s called doing your
homework and working on a budget.
People are coming from all over Long
Island to shop at Uncle Giuseppe’s. We
want to continue opening stores this
size and larger.”