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When California’s McEvoy Ranch redesigned their San Francisco
before store, they seamlessly translated their green business model to
& after
the new store design. Find out how. Meera Rajagopalan
Translating Sustainable Practice to Sustainable Design
� Kitchen islands allow for
easier hosting of tasting
events.
� Shelving was added to

showcase products at eye
level and still have
additional room for �
storage.
� Softer murals with olive �

trees help recreate the
ranch.

� The must-have sinks are

now more integrated into
the store’s kitchen themed
layout.
� A kitchen theme, lighter



lines and more storage
were all elements of a �
successful store redesign.
W
When Michael Bodziner was first assigned to redesign the accredited professional. LEED, which stands for Leadership
The new store design would capture the spirit of the ranch’s
Why redesign?
McEvoy ranch’s retail store in San Francisco, he thought he in Energy and Environmental Design, is a set of standards
kitchen—it would include “a real piece of Americana.”
Founded in 1991, McEvoy Ranch is a producer of certified
had a specific task to accomplish: to capture the essence for environmentally sustainable construction developed by
So Bodziner and his team took the essence of the organic products, which, apart from the olive oil and
of the nearly 80 acres of olive trees at the McEvoy Ranch Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council. In
McEvoy Ranch kitchen and used it as the centerpiece of seasonal produce, includes a line of body care and gift
in Marin County, CA and translate that to the San Francisco the McEvoy kitchen, chefs prepared meals mostly from
the redesign of the 258-square-foot store. The walls, which products. The company has 18,000 trees on 80 acres of its
store. When he and his design team visited the ranch to produce from the ranch, and ranch workers gathered for lunch.
are made like kitchen cabinets, display the store’s 550-acre ranch. In 1994, the company decided to go
get a feel for the place however, he found that the essence “It was a real piece of Americana,” recalls Bodziner. “You
products. The flagship product—the extra-virgin olive oil— organic, which means that the olive trees are grown
of the ranch was not in the trees but in the kitchen where almost expect someone to ring a bell to announce lunch.”
is given a permanent home on the prominent back wall. A without any chemical pesticides or herbicides, and that
everyone gathered for lunch.
lithe frame was created around the section that houses the sheep graze on the grass. The process of going organic took
Bodziner is the principal and co-founder of the retail The heart of the redesign
olive oil, to draw the customer’s attention to it. “This (olive three years, says Nan McEvoy, the founder and CEO of
division of design firm Gensler. “It became apparent to me After that visit to the ranch, Bodziner shifted focus a bit.
oil) is really at the core of the brand,” says Bodziner. McEvoy Ranch. She says the San Francisco store is the
that there was really something there. [The kitchen] was He was now sure he wanted to translate the warm kitchen
The walls also feature murals of olive trees, to give an company’s opportunity to bring the atmosphere of the
the heart and the soul of the ranch,” says Bodziner, an LEED experience he saw at the ranch to the San Francisco store.
impression of looking out at the ranch. ranch to the city.
130 GIFT SHOP
n Summer 2009 GiftShopMag.com
Before & AFter 130 6/18/09 11:45:23 AM
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