When Bachour Bakery & Bistro, which will be run by James Beard Award 2016 semifinalist Antonio Bachour and chef Henry Hané, opens this spring in Miami, Florida, the store will feature the combined sweet and savory talents of these two chefs, with a full bistro menu complemented by a large assortment of pastries. It will also spotlight the magic of integrating modern design in product display with the elegance of premium pastries.
Executive pastry chef at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Hotel in Bal Harbour, Florida, Bachour points out that more national and international chefs are coming to Miami, and the city is ready for an upscale pastry shop that is inspired by the great pastry chefs of Europe.
Bachour will offer signature desserts such as bonbons, macarons, petits gateaux, layered verrines filled with strawberries and cream or key lime coconut mango, hazelnut and chocolate or key lime and berry tarts, and large specialty cakes. Bachour plans to spotlight local tropical fruits in his desserts. Bachour grew up in Puerto Rico and was hooked on pastry from a young age, thanks to a childhood spent in his family’s bakery. He honed his trade in Puerto Rico at Sand Hotel and Casino and the Ritz-Carlton.
This new bakery offers an example of how the bakery and pastry industry is embracing upscale display themes to enhance the overall image of their brands. The key is putting the focus on the product, but in a way that adds sophistication in the minds of the customer.
Form & Function
Bakery display cases have several important functions, according to Luc Imberechts, owner of Bakon USA Food Equipment, Inc. These functions include presenting the products to the customers, but also preserving the quality, freshness and taste of the products while in the store.
A great display case features a lot of built-in technology: temperature, humidity control and air speed are key parameters that need to be in line with the bakery’s needs. A display case designed for chocolate or macarons will not always be the right solution for pastries, Imberechts says. Just like a display for bread products will be very different than a case for ready-to-eat sandwiches.
Premier OCF refrigerated display cases are engineered with patented lighting and food preservation technology that allow for more spacious and elegant presentation of food products and guaranteed impulse purchase. OCF is a French-based manufacturer of premier display solutions and a trusted partner of the most successful French pastry chefs, including Fauchon, Paul Valrhona and more.
Bakon USA Food Equipment is the exclusive distributor of KOMA cold technology and OCF refrigerated displays.
OCF display designs and configurations are customizable to fit and enhance any store/bakery interior. They are made out of high quality water-repellent wood, OCF displays offer vast benefits to your business:
Prolonged product freshness with preserved aesthetics and taste; no dehydration achieved with superior low-speed airflow using micro ventilation technology
- Enhanced, unobstructed presentation and protected visibility of food products, with enhanced dynamic defogging and a patented 3-in-1 system
- Customizable space- and energy-saving designs
- Sale enticing patented LED lighting that does not heat up the products and has a special tint that allows products to pop up.
- More spacious and elegant presentation of food products and guaranteed impulse purchase
Design Tips to Win More Customers
According to data from Structural Concepts, 60 percent of food quality perception is based on the environment.
Structural Concepts offers seven merchandising tips to make sure your shop’s environment stands out:
- A black interior makes your case disappear and your fresh, colorful products “pop.
- Create a colorful border around your fresh products using larger platters.
- See the freshness! Tiered glass shelving allows maximum visibility on every level.
- Adjust shelves to accommodate a variety of merchandise and to add visual interest.
- Mirrored ends and reflective rear doors help the display appear fresh and full.
- Combine single serving foods onto a large platter to create a fresh image.
- Create a theme by adding props, greenery, colorful fabrics or bottles of wine. Be creative!
For cafes and restaurants, combination cases serve a valuable role to combine service and self-service in a single display to optimize space, according to Structural Concepts. An upper display off6ers a convertible feature to convert each side from refrigerated to non-refrigerated at any time. The lower display is always refrigerated.
The operator can change food items throughout the day to support different menus—breakfast, lunch and dinner. This helps you maximize sales opportunities throughout the day.
Convenience plays a significant role for displays that serve growing demand for grab-and-go products.
Hot trends in the QSR market are self-serve ordering and checkout stations/kiosks for those tech savvy customers that would rather do most transactions alone, according to Sara Rosenberg, marketing director for Paragon Solutions.
“We are seeing an abundant surge of self-service in all retail industries and not just the QSR world. Airports, grocery stores and restaurants are getting on board with this and loving it because it reduces the long-term cost of paying humans to do a job that a computer can. One station has the possibility to replace one worker.”
Paragon Solutions is a one-stop shop provider for innovative consulting, design and branding services. Paragon has designed solutions for retail and commercial applications such as convenience stores, quick serve restaurants, restaurants, travel centers, specialty retail, corporate identity and much more since 1986.
