Temescal Plaza lands the first Noah’s Bagels concept store in nearly 20 years, offering a preview of what lies ahead for the company as it invests to bring Noah’s to new neighborhoods throughout California.
Noah’s modern store design coupled with their signature bagels and an entirely new menu of craft beverages—including Peet’s Coffee and Joyride cold brew teas—signals a shift to attract the next generation of bagel lovers. The contemporary look, developed by San Francisco brand strategy and retail design firm, Tesser, brings in stainless steel, brushed brass and wood finishes, but maintains Noah’s iconic blue and white subway tiles and New York heritage.
“Our team blended old-school authenticity in new-school ways to make Noah’s a cool space and build loyalty among younger customers,” says Tré Musco, chief creative officer at Tesser.
The Temescal prototype is the first new design to include a baking “theatre,” so customers can see Noah’s bakers in action as they seed, proof and bake Noah’s bagels fresh each day right in the store.
“It was important to highlight Noah’s visually engaging art of baking to remind customers that Noah’s bakes fresh bagels on site throughout the day, so we designed a baking area that showcased the artisan baking process. By making the ovens visible through a glass window, customers can see the baker seeding, proofing and baking fresh bagels at each location.”
Tesser also focused on boosting Noah’s beverage credibility while making it a place where customers would be inclined to hang out a little longer and extend their patronage beyond breakfast. By creating a craft cold brew tea/coffee bar with stools, customers are invited to sit down and socialize rather than grab-and-go with their bagel and drink. The bar also has a hip, tavern feel to it that sets Noah’s up as an attractive lunch spot.
The store will be one of the only restaurants in the Bay area to feature more than a half-dozen draught teas and coffees on tap. The craft tea bar will pour cold-brew green, black and nitro teas, kombucha and tea lattes. The stores will have dedicated baristas specially trained to make a variety of innovative artisanal beverages.
Tesser employed a variety of messaging and images in an homage to New York culture in the graphics throughout the store, including one by the theatre kitchen that reads “500 degrees of chutzpah.” In another Yiddish reference with “Our Spiel” signage, Tesser tells the story of Noah’s history by combining old-world charm and modern aesthetics. To drive home Noah’s bringing its New York heritage to California, another graphic depicts the iconic Chrysler Building in New York in a mirror image with the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco.
“Our team enjoyed collaborating with Tesser on this project. They ran a very smooth process and we’re thrilled with the outcome. They took the time to understand our brand’s heritage and their design captures the energy of the original Noah’s concept while both elevating and modernizing the environment,” says Tyler Ricks, president, Noah’s NY Bagels.
In addition to the new tea/coffee bar seating, the 2,300 square-foot Temescal store boasts a larger dining room and versatile seating options that include a leather banquette and smaller tables, which offer a range of welcoming options for individuals, families, couples and business meetings.
The new prototype also reinforces a number of handcrafted elements, including herringbone walnut floors and fire clay hand-glazed tiles that were made in the Bay Area. Orange display tables have custom designs with bagel detail inset, yet another hand-crafted detail to drive home the artisan workmanship that is a major part of both Noah’s bagel-making process and the environment.
Besides the new stores and major renovations, Noah’s locations in neighborhoods throughout the Bay Area—including Solano, Montclair, Sloat, Willow Glen, Milpitas, Redwood City, Potrero Hill and El Paseo de Saratoga—have already been refreshed to reflect the new design direction, keeping its core New York spirit and signature bagels.
