Design Focus: City Market Antea
The first of its kind in Queretaro, Mexico, City Market Antea is a high-end supermarket/gourmet shop. While it carries everyday grocery products, its signature items are gourmet articles ranging from game meats to a great selection of caviar. Not only does City Market sell products, it also has gourmet foods prepared in front of shoppers’ eyes, providing a sense of theater. The store additionally features a large assortment of premium wines that shoppers can enjoy with the location’s prepared foods.
On first entering the store, customers encounter fresh fruits and vegetables in the produce section, a well-illuminated area with chandeliers hanging from a custom cork ceiling over well-stocked fixtures. Wood floors and fixtures present a farm-inspired yet elegant look.
Along a focal wall is the wine department. Oxidized imitation tile on the floor and an imitation coffered-wood ceiling impart character to the space, along with high perimeters full of wine, with a top frieze of artistic graphics. The section has three glass-enclosed spaces, one for high-end wines, another serving as a humidor for cigars, and the last one used for sommeliers’ classes and wine tasting. All of the spaces are treated with the same material and finishes to create a great wine-buying experience.
The liquor department, while adjacent to wine, offers a completely different space and shopping experience. Dark floor tile with retro illuminated walls and niches that present the merchandise are surmounted by a vaulted metal ceiling. The feeling is of a bar in a high-end hotel.
Islands of Delight
Right after that is the perimeter, featuring meat and fish, an island of deli items, and two others dedicated to prepared food. Bar Do Mar is one of them. It has a circular salt-water fish tank right in the middle as a feature. The counter is made of glass that is retro-illuminated. The seating area is all white leather to contrast with the blue tones of the counter.
The other prepared food island is Pintxos, a basque word that means “tapas,” or small plates from Spain. The island is made of brushed metal, with a white granite countertop and leather stools upholstered like the seats in Ferrari vehicles.
The deli island, meanwhile, has a two-tone copper ceiling and black showcases. The center of the island features an antique mirror, imparting character to the whole space.
All of these islands are flanked by the perimeter departments of the gourmet kitchen, bakery and chocolates, all finished with different tones of wood in patterns to identify each distinct area.
Modern Warmth
Next, the Gelateria provides a focal point. Retro-illuminated walls that change colors make it a highly attractive destination. The counter is metal with white Corian, a solid surface material created by DuPont, while the wood floor makes it feel modern and warm at the same time.
Next to the checkouts is a department dedicated to small electrics and dinnerware, an area of its own presented with floor and perimeter woods to evoke the feeling of a specialty shop.
Amid the gondolas that carry nonperishable foods is an area dedicated to spa products. A combination of light and dark wood floors gives the area a nautical feeling. The perimeter is made of wood as well, with a green mosaic and coral tile at the top. A chandelier right in the middle anchors the whole area.
The exterior is a prototype design emphasized by black metal panels, the epitome of a simple but very recognizable architecture.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based PDT International, the design firm that worked on City Market Antea, received recognition for the store in the 2017 International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Latin American Shopping Center Awards program, which recognizes outstanding achievement across the region’s retail real estate industry. PDT was a Gold Award winner in the Retail category.
