Jones the Grocer arrived on the Sydney food scene in 1996. Since then, Landini Associates have helped expand and evolve its offer overseas. To mark the next step in the Jones journey, our task was to reintroduce the brand to its hometown audience by way of a flagship store in the glamorous CBD Westfield.

It’s still a grocer but has transgressed to be a multifaceted creator of meals. It produces casual yet polished eats, from eating in or take away, a baker and patisserie, as well as a tea expert, cafe, licensed restaurant with private dining room and open kitchen, cooking school and tapas bar. Achieving all this diversity of service in one 490 m2 location was a tricky balance.

We placed the open bakery and patisserie at the front to provide an active interface with the Westfield guests, whilst also serving to buffer the dining areas from the shopping centre. We then created multiple areas internally, each entertained and protected by food production activities such as the open kitchen, tapas bar and shop. This allows the whole to be viewed from the center but also to be separate enough to define its own personality.

At the very outset we recognized how important the lighting would be both as a foil to the centre but also to create the dining experience that Jones needed to succeed throughout the day and into the night. We determined to light the space with a warmth that sits at odds with its new home. This we achieved largely by lighting a stone feature wall that looks onto Pitt Street and exclusively lighting the activity and product, rather than the space. This was supplemented by new low energy efficient fittings and LED’s, which both up and down-light the product and rear wall of the space.

Our overall ambition was to create a celebration of real people coming together to cook, eat and be social. Jones gets that and that’s what makes it special.

Designed by Landini Associates